


Little Bug

by alexbluewolf



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya’s sisters get a little too excited to have a new friend, Crush Reveal, F/M, I tried a macaron because of this story and didn’t like it, Little Sister AU, Minor Character Death Mentioned, Occasional angst, Sister Problems, Stress, Too Much Responsibility, love of a family, poor Marinette is loaded, slightly more cliché than I’d like to admit, small Adrien/Luka rivalry, some blood but not graphic, someone goes bald
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2020-02-27 20:32:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 57,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18746596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexbluewolf/pseuds/alexbluewolf
Summary: Marinette finds out she has a younger sister. The new responsibility takes a toll on her school life, "love" life, social life, and hero duties.





	1. Chapter 1

Waking up was often considered a difficult task for Marinette. In fact, it was always the most dreadful part of her day. Squinting at the sunlight, the dark-haired girl rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and pulled the covers off. She groaned exhaustedly, tapping her phone screen to reveal the time. 

"9:47?! I'm really, really late to school!! Tikki, why didn't you wake me?!" Marinette sprung out up, almost falling off the bed. She ran up, pulling her denim shorts out of her dresser and yanking a random pink top from her closet, causing the hanger to swing harshly in effect. After slipping out of her pajamas, the girl almost tripped pulling on her denim shorts. She then fixated the pink top over her head and arms, smoothing it down once finished.

The kwami, a red fairy-like creature, yawned and glanced up at the panic-stricken girl before flying up to her face. "Did you forget to set your alarm again? Marinette, you have a test in your next class!" Tikki exclaimed, pulling up a hair brush to quickly fix the teenager's messy dark hair. 

"I know, I spent hours studying for it last night! I'm so late! Thanks, Tikki," Marinette took the hairbrush from the kwami and running it through her hair. Tikki quickly tied her holder's hair into her usual pigtails, following Marinette's paces in the attempt of finding her pink flats. 

Tikki flew into the girl's backpack as Marinette ran down to her bathroom to brush her teeth. She was adjusted to Marinette's messy and fast-paced morning routine, and it didn't trouble her as much as it had when they first met.

Marinette ran back up to her bedroom to grab her backpack, then went back down the stairs to head on down to the first level of her family's house, known as the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Expecting to be lightly scolded for her lack of punctuality, she mentally reminded herself to set her alarm for the next morning after school.

"I'm so late for school! Mom? Dad?" She called out, but saw her bakery was closed for the day. A note for her was left, saying they were going to pick up someone from the airport and return before she got back from school. It appeared one of her relatives were taking a visit to Paris, and Marinette smiled with excitement. She always loved meeting her family members, as they always told such interesting stories.

"Oh my... I wonder who they're picking up. Well, I guess I'll meet them after school!" She spoke to Tikki, but then ran out the bakery door. She continued to review her study guide on her way out, mentally reviewing each question. Marinette sprinted to school, bursting through the doors of the classroom on an annoyed Mrs. Mendeliev. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! If you wish to join this class for the test, do so discreetly! Why were you late?" The teacher asked her, causing the girl to smile sheepishly as she looked up to her.

"I- uh... woke up really late," she admitted, receiving a bit of laughter from the rest of the class. Her face heated up and she went to take her seat to Alya, her best friend.

"At least you didn't make any weird excuses this time like getting stuck in a tree or falling into a really big street gutter," Alya teased playfully, earning a jokingly offended look from Marinette. It was true, as the girl always managed to come up with the strangest cover stories to explain away her constant tardiness. 

She unwrinkled the study guide from her hands and continued to look over it. Each formula of this unit was more or less similar to the others, yet each carried a single different variable and served a distinctive function. Marinette's late night studying paid off, seeing as she was able to recall which function served to the formula. The kwami had tested her verbally numerous times with the attempt to help her remember for the test.

"Hopefully you all studied well. It's time to take your chemistry test," the teacher announced, motioning for her class to hand in their study guides. The students looked at one another helplessly as they hesitantly passed their only source of aid to the front of the classroom. 

"Did you girls study?" Adrien asked them, turning around to a suddenly blushing Marinette. Adrien Agreste, son of the famous fashion designer, was Marinette's crush. She admired him for his big heart and kindness. His appearance was nothing more than just an additional compensation to his generous personality. Those staggeringly gorgeous green eyes and that golden hair were things to be marveled at, Marinette felt.

"Spent about an hour looking at the study guide after finishing it," Alya nonchalantly replied, "What about you, Nino?" 

Nino, Adrien's best friend, looked back to face the two girls. "Ugh, I completely forgot," he groaned, pulling his headphones off grumpily, slumping his face into the desk. 

"Dude, next time, we're having a study session. What about you, Marinette?" He asked politely, including the shy, blushing girl in the conversation.

"Uh, I-" she began, but was cut off by the teacher.

"Alright, test time! Everyone quiet down!" The teacher shouted, immediately silencing Marinette, as well as everyone else in the classroom.

"Good luck," he whispered to his friends with a smile, then turned around. 

Marinette pulled her pen from her pouch and set it on the table as she was passed a test handout. Feeling stressed with all the rushing around she'd been doing that morning, she skimmed through the test quickly. Luckily, the study guide corresponded relatively well with the test, so a lot of the information was easily relayed from her memory. 

Some questions, as usual, managed to stump her, but with them being multiple choice, she picked the best possible answer she could see. The formula's functions seemed to have more components than she could recall, so she had to make an educational guess. Marinette didn't rush through the remainder of the test during the period, but took her time analyzing the best choices and answers. 

With a few minutes only being left in the period, Marinette had many more problems she wasn't sure about, so she rushed through those and picked a few random answers towards the end. As she bubbled in the last question, the bell rang to dismiss them for their next class. 

She quickly handed in her test, then took her backpack to walk with Alya to her next class, physical education. 

"How do you think you did on the test?" Alya asked.

"I remembered a lot of the information about the functions, but on the chemistry problems with the multi-step equations, I had to take some guesses," Marinette admitted, hanging her head shamefully.

"Well I'm sure you got a good grade. There weren't too many chemistry equations on there," her best friend assured her, patting her shoulder.

"What about you? How do you think you did?" Marinette asked Alya curiously.

"It was the exact opposite of you. I could only solve the equations, but I had to guess on the information part of it," Alya laughed at the irony.

"Aww, well at least you could do the math. That's what's important," she smiled, shrugging.

"When you're planning on being a journalist, I'm sure math isn't necessary," Alya told her, allowing her shoulders to slump.

"You're the best at writing anyways," Marinette reassured her best friend.

The two girls walked to the gym, then changed out in the locker rooms. Soon after, they met back up at the teacher's spot for their class. 

After going through the rest of the school day, Marinette had forgotten about the fact that her family was bringing a surprise guest. However, she mindfully set her alarm clock for the next day to avoid a repeat of her hectic morning. She sighed, walking home from school obliviously.

Marinette was suddenly surprised when she opened the door to the bakery to find a dark-haired pale toddler with the same blue eyes she had. The short girl looked about Manon's age, and looked up at her shyly. She then remembered that her parents brought a relative home. Was she one of her relative's daughters? Maybe a cousin of hers?

"Hello! Where is your mama or papa?" She asked the girl who sat at a table in their bakery with a gentle smile.

"Mommy is in the kitchen," the four-year-old pointed to the back of the bakery, speaking quietly. She hugged herself shyly, her mouth forming a pout.

"That's awesome! I'm Marinette," she smiled, seeing as the girl looked really nervous.

"Sissy," She pointed at Marinette childishly, mumbling. The teenager giggled half heartedly, unsure of what she meant. She lifted her gaze from the child back to her own business. She went to the back of the bakery, looking in the kitchen. 

"Hello Mama! Who is the child?" Marinette asked her own mother, who had just been seemingly wiping away tears. Once she had realized that her mother had been crying, the girl immediately snapped to ask, "Wait, what's wrong? Are you okay?" 

"You remember your grandmother, right? Not Gina, but my mother?" Sabine asked her, her voice still choked up. 

Marinette's heart fell as she realized what her mother was going to say. She hugged Sabine tightly, as to comfort her mother. Her grandmother had passed.

"She died of a heart attack, Marinette! Now... she's all alone!" She sobbed, squeezing her daughter.

"She's not alone. Maman, she's with her mother and father, your grandparents. She's in peace," Marinette told her sympathetically, feeling her own eyes grow glassy with tears. She hadn't spent much time with the woman, but she raised her mother. She's heard so many stories from Sabine about her loving grandmother, and she wouldn't be able to see her again. 

"Th-That... may be true for your grandmother," Sabine whispered emotionally. She took a deep breath before telling her the news, “Marinette, you have a little sister.”


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette stared incredulously at her mother, who wasn't able to truly look her daughter in the eye. She pulled away, searching her expression to see if there was any indication of a joke or some kind of a prank. 

Maybe the grief was really getting to her, the teenager assumed, still unable to believe her. However, she wouldn't voice these thoughts to her grieving mother, so she just blankly opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

"Marinette, the girl out there really is your little sister. Camille is her name," Sabine wiped away tears, her voice still hoarse from crying.

"Wait, when did you...? I would've remembered if you were pregnant. Are you positive she's not a cousin or something?" Marinette asked, trying to keep her head on. 

"She's your little sister. Camille is really nervous about coming to live with us in Paris because she's lived with my mother all her life. Can you please help me out with her? I've got to get the bakery back up and open today, as well as do some orders, so please help me with her," Sabine practically begged her daughter. Marinette staggered back slightly in surprise at her mother's urgency. 

"Of course, I will totally help you out with Camille, but what... when- I- why didn't you tell me I had a younger sister? Why couldn't she stay with us before?" Marinette rambled, her head spinning. 

A lost little sister she never knew she had? Was this a dream or was she just hearing things? Most of all, she was really confused as to why her parents hadn't told her. This truth was strange, mostly abrupt.

"I'll explain it to you later, I promise, but I have a big order coming up that needs to be done and delivered in three hours and your father is barely starting. Can you take her out and introduce her to Paris? Spend some time with her," Sabine replied hurriedly, but affectionately placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. 

Marinette widened her eyes in surprise, but did not hesitate to let her mother get started in helping her father start their cake order. "Yes, you go ahead! I've got this! Good luck, Mom!" 

She walked back out of the room, taking another glance over at the girl who was supposedly her younger sister. Sure enough, she had similar features to herself, only varying in size. "Camille, was it? I'm Marinette, your older sister! Want to go get ice cream?" Marinette asked the girl, remembering how the little girl she babysat often loved when she asked. 

"Mario...net?" Camille repeated unsurely, barely able to look her in the eye. 

"You can call me Mari," Marinette chuckled gently. Even Manon, her babysitting charge, had trouble pronouncing her name at first, she remembered.

The little girl nodded slowly. "Isn't ice cream bad for your teeth?" She asked quietly.

Marinette smiled, remembering how her mother's stories about her grandmother always included how much she hated junk food. "Well, it's not bad all the time, you know. It tastes yummy," she smiled, trying to convince the girl, "Look, my teeth are okay! I love ice cream!"

"They look yellow," Camille giggled shyly after receiving a playful glare from Marinette. Her blue eyes made contact with the teenager's for a short amount of time before falling the ground right away.

"Hey! They're not that yellow," Marinette replied defensively, but also laughing as she did so. "Well if you don't want ice cream, what else do you like?" 

"C-Cookies?" Camille mumbled, pointing toward the newly baked macaroons on display. 

"I also have a little friend who loves cookies a lot," Marinette looked down at the inside of her backpack to see Tikki's big blue eyes looking at her questioningly. She smiled assuringly, mouthing to her kwami that she'd explain everything to her later.

Marinette looked back at the child, who seemed to be looking at the macaroon cookies longingly. "Which color?" She asked, pulling out kitchen tongs to grab a few cookies for the child. She discreetly slipped a few chocolate chip ones into the large pocket where Tikki sat. 

"Red please," she mumbled, still shy towards her.

Marinette placed four small, red macaroons in a paper treat bag, then handed it to Camille. She slowly took it from her older sister, gently pulling it to her chest once it was in her possession. 

"Let's go do something fun! Hey, there's a cool place I have to show you!" She grabbed her hand, hoping to spark interest in the child and get her to open up a little. Manon had been a little shy when she first started babysitting her, but now she acted as if she lived with her.

To her pleasure, Camille seemed interested in whatever idea Marinette appeared to come up with. "The... park has a cool place that I used to love when I was your age!"

"We're going to the park?" Camille's eyes lit up, although her voice was still small and soft spoken.

"Yes! Then we can go to another place I think you'll like," Marinette led the child out the door, keeping a somewhat firm grip on her hand to ensure she wouldn't lose her. 

However, during the walk there, she didn't try to stray from the path or pull away from her sister. Maybe she'll be good, Marinette thought to herself. Or at least easier to handle than her babysitting charge, Manon. She always had her way with her baby-doll eyes, basically melting the teenager into a vulnerable puddle of whatever authority she was supposed to be to the child. It came as a relief to Marinette that Camille likely wasn't going to do such a thing to her. At least not yet.

"So, now that we're sisters, let's learn about each other! I'll say a little fact first, then you could tell me one too," she suggested, hoping to spark conversation. The girl nodded slightly, looking up at Marinette curiously. "My favorite color is pink," the teenager stated, then smiled at Camille to go next.

"Mine is... purple," she stammered shyly.

"Oh, purple is a fun color! My next fact... Hmmm. Oh, I love hamsters! They're my favorite animals," Marinette cheerfully, yet gently replied. 

"I like zebras."

"Oh, they have the most awesome stripes, right? They're so cool! When I grow up, I want to be a fashion designer and make clothes," the teenager replied, then stated another fact.

"Grandma said I'm going to be a doctor," Camille told her, her voice slightly less nervous.

"Oh, that's nice! Do you want to be a doctor?" Marinette asked, peeking down at the child's expression.

"I want to be a superhero," she decided, causing Marinette to smile gleefully.

"Superhero, huh? That's really cool!" She replied to the younger child.

"Look, we're here!" She changed the subject, pointing to the park she usually hung out at with Alya. Her eyes landed on a certain blond boy, tinting her cheeks with pink.

"Oh no... Why today? Why now?" She muttered to herself, watching as Adrien was forced to do his job as a model. He folded his arms and leaned against a tree as his photographer directed little commands. 

"Is that your boyfriend, Mari?" Camille asked rather blatantly, earning the attention of Adrien. Her pink tinted face was now reddening with a heating embarrassment. Why did she finally decide to talk louder now?

"Don't be silly!" She laughed nervously, guiding the child to the carousel a few yards away. "But he will be eventually," Marinette continued in a whisper. 

Camille looked at the carousel curiously, then peeked up at Marinette. She noticed a few other kids were riding on it, and concluded it was a fun activity.

"This was what I wanted to show you!" The teenager smiled, thankful for her change in interest, "This is a carousel! I'm sure they have some in China, but I know Grandma was always a little protective."

Camille chose to ride on the seat that was carved like a submarine. "I wanna be a diver," she decided, allowing Marinette to pick her up to help her sit in it and buckle her seat-belt. Marinette sat on the unicorn behind hers, signaling the ride conductor to begin.

"Sorry, let me grab a seat really quickly!" A familiarly deep voice spoke from behind her. She almost fell off her unicorn when she saw Adrien's face the moment she spun her head around. 

"Hi Marinette!" Adrien greeted her, sitting on the cat-like seat right beside her.

"A-Adrien, hi! I umm... didn't know you were here! I mean I saw you on the way in, but I didn't follow you because I'm definitely not a stalker a-and sorry about what my sister said if it made you uncomfortable! I wasn't sure if you heard it, and if you didn't even hear it, why am I rambling? Sorry!" She squeaked out the apology, mostly positive she made a complete fool out of herself.

"It's totally fine, Marinette. I didn't know you had a sister," Adrien smiled gently, already used to her nervous rambles. It wasn't clear to him if she still hated him or not from the "gum incident," which was a rude gesture done by his old friend, Chloe. He tried his best to be friendly, and found he made better progress when she called him one of her friends.

Marinette sighed and pulled herself together. She told herself this was it, she wasn't going to ramble. "I-I didn't know either," she giggled nervously. 

"So you just found out? What's her name?" Adrien asked curiously.

"I met her today, actually. Her name is Camille," Marinette replied, smiling gently at the smaller dark-haired child that sat in front of her.

"Camille looks so much like you. She has your bluebell eyes and dark hair," Adrien noticed, smiling at his classmate.

"Uh- thank you! She's way cuter than me, of course," Marinette laughed, getting a laugh from her boy classmate.

When the carousel came to a stop, Marinette went to help unbuckle Camille from her submarine-shaped seat. "Mari, can we go again?" She asked quietly, curiously peering at Adrien.

"We'll come back tomorrow, I promise. Say hi to my friend, Adrien," Marinette asked.

"Okay... Hi Arwen," she mumbled to the blonde boy, waving her hand shyly as she stepped behind Marinette's leg. 

"Hello Camille! Have you seen Paris's superheroes yet?" Adrien asked the young girl, getting a short giggle from her older sister. 

"Ladybug and Cat Boy? Yes," Camille said with a smile, but still held onto Marinette. She stared at the floor, unable to maintain eye contact with her older sister's friend.

"Marinette, you should show her the LadyBlog or take her to the next meet-and-greet!" Adrien suggested as the child's excitement grew. 

"Haha! I'm sure she'd love to meet the heroes!" Marinette laughed, growing nervous at the idea of taking her younger sister to meet her own self. 

"Alya said there was actually one tonight!" the blonde mentioned, unintentionally reminding the girl that she had to attend that meet-up as her alter ego. Whoops, she thought, that almost slipped her mind. Chat Noir probably would've gotten a little grumpy being there by himself.

"Can I go? Please?" Camille asked, suddenly wanting to meet her female role model. 

"I-I would... love to take you, but I- um have homework... at the dentist! I mean an appointment at the dentist then homework! Wow, look at the time! Maybe we should get dinner," the teenager told the younger girl, watching her pout.

"You know, Chloe said she started her own baby-sitting business. Maybe you could ask her?" Adrien mentioned. 

"Chloe?! Wow, I did not know that. I'll keep that in mind. See you later, Adrien!" Marinette made a mental note to never trust Chloe with her younger sister. Chloe Bourgeois was always so rude to Marinette, insulting her and picking on her family's business. There was no way she would even think of trusting that girl.

"See you tomorrow!" Adrien walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

"Who is Chloe?" Camille asked as they walked out of the park, holding Marinette's hand shyly.

"She's a very crazy girl you do not want to meet. Trust me," Marinette tried to convince the younger girl.

"Is she your friend?" the younger girl asked.

"No. Well, a few years ago, she used to be. One day, she just started to hate me. I'm not sure why, but she just started being mean to everyone around her and me. She even ruined our great uncle's soup when he was in the competition."

"That's mean," Camille pouted. 

"I don't want her to be mean to you either, so I'd just rather let you meet Ladybug another time," Marinette said. 

"What about Cat Boy?" she asked.

"I definitely take you to meet Chat Noir one day. Just... without Ladybug there."

"Why can't you take me to meet the superheroes with Ladybug there?" Camille continued to question the teenager.

"La-adybug and I can't be in the same room, Camille. It's impossible," Marinette laughed at the idea. What was she doing? Marinette knew she was cutting it dangerously close to a reveal. Revealing her identity to a little kid was not something one of Paris's famed superheroes should do. Especially after only knowing the kid for less than half a day. 

"Why?" 

"I don't like Ladybug," Marinette lied.

"You do like Ladybug. Everyone likes Ladybug," Camille pointed out, watching Marinette struggle to come up with a better excuse.

"Fine, I do like Ladybug. She's really cool, but she doesn't like me!" 

"Why?"

"We both have a crush on Adrien-er WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH ADRIEN, I mean, obviously..." 

Camille stared at her, completely confused by the random outburst of a denial. The teenager was a blushing red mess, and Camille wasn't informed enough to understand the meaning behind the redness of her face. 

"And why would he like a greasy bakery girl who likes to act and dress like her baby sister? In my opinion, Ladybug would be a better option if he didn't love me so much. No wonder she prefers to be friends with moi!" A dreaded voice came from behind Marinette like an irritating siren, causing her to turn at her with obvious exasperation written on her face. 

"Oh, I'm so sure," Marinette rolled her eyes, speaking with sarcasm toward the blonde infection-like female.

"Anyways, I'm pretty sure I've heard Ladybug telling Chat Noir about how dorky your clothes are. Whatever!" Chloe huffed, pushing past the teenager.

Camille watched in confusion as to why a big mean girl was pushing her older sister around.

Marinette groaned in response to Chloe's ridiculous claims. As if she would talk so terribly about herself! What could she tell her in return? 

"Ladybug doesn't say that."

Both teenagers dropped their glares, realizing that the child had spoken. Not exactly spoken, but argued.

Chloe blinked out of surprise for a moment, but then bent down to the child's level. "Listen up sweetie, Ladybug has a better fashion sense than your terribly dressed older sister," the blonde replied snarkily, then stood back straight.

"Let's go, Camille. Someone who says mean things about others doesn't deserve our time," Marinette lifted the child into her arms before walking away from Chloe.

"She's ugly on the inside," Camille told Marinette, causing her to smile as they walked away.

* * *

"Did you two have fun?" Sabine asked as the two girls entered through the bakery doors, Marinette carrying a tired Camille. 

"Yeah, I took her to the park, and she got to meet a few people," Marinette reported quietly, smiling.

"Oh, that sounds good. You could place her on her new bed," Sabine replied, pointing upwards. 

"Where is it?" The girl asked, turning to face her mother.

"Oh, you haven't seen the new bed we put in your room? We had to move your vanity set and put your mannequins in the living room."

Marinette's eyes widened as she realized she was now sharing her room. Instead of saying anything, she nodded with a small smile and ascended to her room. 

Immediately, she noticed the difference. The chaise was now replaced by new dressers, the fashion mannequins were gone, and her desk was blocked by the vanity set. A chest of toys was beside the small bed, and the chaise was covered by small clothing.   
If Camille was in the room, she would not be able to transform into Ladybug. 

Marinette carefully placed the child into her own bed, pulling the small bear close to Camille.

She had to be at the meet-and-greet that night, and it was important for Alya's journalism assignment that she could get an interview. Deciding to think about her new room arrangement later, she went back down the stairs. 

"Mom, I'll be back later tonight!" Marinette said as she tried to leave the bakery. 

"Wait! We need your help. Can you cook dinner? We have many orders to complete, and Camille needs to eat when she wakes up. Can you tell your friends that you're not available tonight?" Sabine begged, causing Marinette to give a weak smile. 

"Uh... sure! It's for school... though. I mean, I have a group- thing and my classmates won't- be too happy if I um.... skip out!"

"I'll... uh- call you out of school tomorrow! I can call you out sick," Sabine quickly replied, and Marinette could see the desperation.

Alya needed this interview for a grade, and so many people were counting on seeing Ladybug. Chat Noir wouldn't mind much having all the attention, but he would be disappointed to have to explain that his partner had decided to skip out on him.

"How about I... make dinner super quickly, and leave it in the microwave for Camille? What kind of food does she like? I could whip some up real quickly!" Marinette smiled nervously, peering down at her kwami worriedly. 

"Oh, you know how to make hand-pulled noodles, right? She's a little picky, and you know how precise your grandmother was with her recipes. It takes a little longer though," Sabine suggested.

Noodles? That would be easy, she thought to herself. If she just bought a microwaveable noodle thing and put it in a nice bowl, there would be no way Camille could tell the difference. 

"Sure!" The teenager rushed, heading up the stairs as if she were going to the kitchen. 

Quickly, she transformed into her alter ego with the commanding phrase, "Tikki, spots on!" 

The girl grabbed her yoyo weapon device, throwing it out the window. Looping around a chimney on another roof, she let the strength of her device pull her toward the destination. Hopping down to an alley afterwards, she detransformed, irritating Tikki.

"Marinette, what are you doing? You have to make your sister's food! We can do it super quickly if we work fast," The kwami tried to convince her.

"I'm not making it from scratch! There won't be enough time to make it to the meet-and-greet, and if Alya doesn't see Ladybug, she's going to get a bad grade for not doing her assignment. Look, I can just run to the store, and pick up a microwaveable cup of noodles. All I have to do is put it in the microwave, then put it in a bowl. I can do both!" Marinette whispered as she jogged to the market. She slipped the hairbands out of her messy pigtails, and threw her hair into a quick ponytail.

Tikki sighed, knowing the clumsy teenager was probably right. She silently watched from the girl's bag as it swung back and forth from her uncoordinated, stumbling jog.

 

Her eyes widened when she noticed a familiar human figure walking turning a corner, holding a cake. The girl came to a screeching stop at the realization of who she was about to encounter. 

"Marinette, hide!" The kwami screeched, "It's your father!" 

Marinette jumped silently behind a wall, being careful not to make any alerting vocals as she would do normally. She tumbled to the ground, nearly squashing the kwami in her bag.

If Tom saw his daughter, he would likely remember that she was supposed to be watching Camille, causing Marinette to have to lie, then be caught in it later. She did not want to have to deal with it, so she remained hidden, crawling into a bush beside her spot. 

After a minute or two, the kwami checked the coast, and alerted her holder. "He's gone."

"That was way too close," Marinette took a deep breath of relief. 

"But you should probably hurry with the noodles if you want to make it home before someone checks on you. My suggestion is doing it right the first time, but your method could work if you're quick... and lucky!" Tikki exclaimed.

Marinette smiled wearily, and opened her purse up for the kwami to fly into. "We can do this!" She said optimistically, beginning to run. Avoiding pedestrians, she pushed through to the market, found the food, paid for it, then used her transformation to get home as quickly as she could. 

Within moments, she landed on her balcony, quickly detransforming. Tikki landed exhaustedly on a plant beside her. 

"I'll get you cookies, I promise. The event starts in... two minutes?! The microwaveable noodles take three minutes!" Marinette grabbed at her hair stressfully.

"You can afford to be a few minutes late. It's for two hours anyway!" Tikki smiled tiredly. After two transformations so close together, it exhausted her. Cookies were a necessity if she were going to keep her holder transformed for so long.

Marinette stepped down into her bed, then slipped down the ladder as quietly as possible. She opened her trap door, peeking down to make sure her parents didn't see the already prepared noodles. Unsure why she had to make them from scratch anyway, she took a cup of noodles, then followed the instructions. 

Pulling the plastic off, then filling the cup with water, she placed it in the microwave for the three minute requirement. Tikki helpfully threw away the trash, and did her best to drag her holder a bowl. 

Marinette hopped down to the bottom level of the building, the bakery, to grab a few cookies for the kwami. 

As she did so, Tikki pulled the cup of noodles out of the microwave, and poured it into a nice bowl. Grabbing the proper utensils, she placed them out on the dining table. In an attempt to help out, she pulled out some ingredients, messing up the kitchen a little to make it appear that Marinette made the noodles from scratch. 

Once she returned, Marinette gasped a little. Tiki was lugging out the gigantic bag of flour and using every piece of strength she had to pull the heavy ingredient to her holder. The girl quickly relieved the kwami of the mass, picking it up herself after exchanging a thankful smile.

Marinette dumped the heavy flour bag on the kitchen counter. "It looks like I actually made noodles," She pointed out before throwing bakery flour over her clothing and hair. Tikki sighed, looking at the teenage girl covering herself in flour powder to avoid actually doing the task correctly.

 

Leaving it in the microwave, Marinette left a note on the table for Camille. 

"Can she even read yet?!" Tikki asked frantically as Marinette grabbed her bag and opened it for the kwami, the chocolate chip cookies ready to be eaten for her.

"Uh... I don't know! Probably! Here, we're going to be late!" 

In response, the kwami flew in. She worried for Marinette as she stumbled downstairs, her hair filled with flour from her "cooking."

"Mom, I made the food! Can I go now?" She asked quite loudly, causing a few customers to turn. 

"That was really fast. Are you sure you did it right? Camille is very picky about her food, and I remember your grandmother telling me that she won't eat it unless it has stewed carrots cut up into it. Did you cut the noodles into pieces? She might not be able to swallow the longer ones," Sabine answered as she handed a customer her order. 

"Stewed carrots? Do we have any carrots?" Marinette asked, running her hand through her bangs as she pushed them back. 

"Only the ones we use for the cake, but we need our orders to be precise. Do you mind running to the store and picking some up for Camille's dinner, Marinette?" Sabine requested, then turned back to the new customer, "How may I help you?"

"Sure!" Marinette squeaked, slipping out the bakery door in a sprint again. 

She continued to run down the street, not wanting to waste another transformation with her kwami again. 

"What am I going to do, Tikki?! I'm already so late!"


	4. Chapter 4

After rushing back to the grocery store to grab some carrots, Marinette had started to run back to her house in a frantic manner. Somehow, the line at the store took twenty minutes, and she was already thirty-five minutes late to her meet-and-greet with her partner. 

Since the facility where the meet-and-greet was already beside the grocery store, she decided to stop in unmasked see if she could help Alya.

Marinette slipped in, pushing the heavy glass doors. It smelled like a doctor's office, but the hall had a large sign that welcomed people to meet Paris's heroes for free. 

"You made it, Marinette!" Alya cheered, causing Chat Noir to turn at her. He looked as if he were just about to wave shyly, but he suddenly smirked and gave her a two-finger solute. 

She smiled, waving at him, then turned to Alya, "Where's Ladybug?" Marinette asked, glancing around at the people who were obviously wearing her merchandise.

"I don't know... I hope she's just late," Alya looked down disappointedly, "I procrastinated my journalism project to get an interview with her, and it's due tomorrow. I need to type up my paper quickly, and get her signature."

The dark-haired teenager gulped, her face paling.

"Maybe you could ask Chat Noir! He's already here!" She suggested nervously.

"As cool as I think that cat is, I already told my teacher I was choosing Ladybug for my subject," Alya whined, "And if I change it without telling her, she won't accept it!" 

This was not good. She had to transform that second and help out her best friend. Why couldn't Alya have chosen someone like Mayor Bourgeois or Officer Roger?

"I- I gotta-" Marinette was about to speed out so she could transform, but her phone rang. 

Seeing her mother's caller ID, she rushed to a quieter area where children weren't screaming and crying for Ladybug. Alya looked over at her friend, perplexed as to why she was leaving so quickly.

"Hi Mom?" Marinette answered the phone meekly. 

"Marinette, why aren't you coming home? I know you're at the Ladybug and Chat Noir thing," her mother answered in a grave tone, causing her to freeze in a panic.

"What? I was just heading home! I have the carrots and—"

"Young lady, don't lie to me. I just saw you live on television with Alya. You're supposed to be helping Camille!" 

Young lady? Last time her mother called her that was when she got in a fight with Chloe at school. 

Now there were news people?! Of course, either it was Alec or Mrs. Chamack, and she didn't notice them. She was in deep trouble. 

"I'll be coming right away," Marinette replied quietly.

The phone hung up after that, and she looked down at Tikki. Suddenly, her mother texted her a picture of the television.

"I can't believe she saw you," Tikki sympathized.

"What should I do, Tikki? Alya, Chat Noir, and the public are depending on Ladybug! My parents and Camille are depending on Marinette! I can't be in two places!" The teenager panicked, throwing her hands up before holding onto the top of her head. 

She had two choices: Go help save Alya's grade and be there for those who came to see Ladybug, disappointing her sister and further angering her mother, or go home to an already irritated mother, help her sister, and completely murder Alya's midterm grade, and disappoint those who waited in line to see Ladybug. 

"Calm down, I'm sure we can figure something out! Maybe Ladybug could show up in the last few minutes and promise a longer interview with Alya when the meet-and-greet is over," Tikki assured her. 

Marinette smiled weakly, raising her thumbs to the kwami. She allowed her to fly into her purse before heading toward the door.

"Wait, Marinette!" She heard a voice call from behind her. Spinning around, she noticed her partner stumbling into the hall.

"Chat Noir?" 

Luckily he didn't see Tikki, but that could've been close. The girl noticed he was holding out her shopping bag for her to take. "You almost forgot this! I mean, I'm pretty sure Alya would've given it to you, but I figured you needed it sooner and- uh... yeah!" Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Oh! I totally forgot! Wow, I could've gotten in so much trouble. Thank you, kit-kiddo- er... Chat Noir!" Marinette attempted to reply without sounding like Ladybug, nearly using her nickname "kitty" for him. Her mind was completely frazzled at this point with the situation at hand. Her mother caught her in a lie, her new little sister needs dinner, and her fans and their parents expect to see Ladybug. 

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Chat Noir asked, accidentally falling into his Adrien manners without either of them realizing it.

"I just have so many places to be and there's only one Marinette! Sometimes I just wish I could be in more than one place at a time! With school, family, dut..." The teenager nearly exploded, but then caught herself. "I'm sorry, I'm fine. I'll just be on my way, but thanks for helping." She held up the shopping back he returned to her with a weak smile. 

Before he had a chance to reply, she ran out of the building as fast as she could, desperately wanting to get home so she could finish cooking, and get to being Ladybug.

Once she arrived, she tossed the carrots on the counter, then washed her hands. Running the carrots under water to ensure they were clean, Tikki grabbed a pot for Marinette. When she dragged it to the stove, the teenager poured water in. After turning on the stove, she quickly chopped the carrots and threw them in the pot. 

She almost didn't notice the faint cry coming from her room, but Tikki alarmed her. "Marinette, I think Camille needs you," she whispered, pointing at the trap door above. 

Dropping the spoon on the bowl, she rushed up to open her trap door.

"Mari, I can't find the door," Camille sniffled, "I got locked in!"

"Oh, that's because our room has a special door! Look, all we have to do is pull up this door like this, and a ladder comes out! Like magic!" Marinette tried to make her feel better, smiling, "Here, you try!" She closed the door again, and motioned for her sister to come over. 

Camille wiped her tears and sat right beside Marinette, looking at the closed trap door. She wrapped her smaller hand around the handle, and pulled it up. The ladder extended downwards, indicating Tikki that she was coming. 

The kwami dropped the spoon beside the pot and hid.

Marinette stepped down first, quickly looking to make sure Tikki hid, then held out her hand to help her sister down the stairs. She shakily took Marinette's hand, and nervously stepped down.

"Your dinner is almost done. Just give me a couple more minutes," the teenager informed her, "Here, maybe you could watch TV while you wait!"

Quickly running to turn on the television, she put on some random kid's show, then gave Camille a cookie while she waited. The younger girl sat on the couch, eating the cookie. 

Completely unaware of the fact that the station she just put on was this entire marathon featuring an online sensation's series that wasn't truly intended for children, but looked as if it were, Marinette finished up the carrots.

Hearing the ominous music, she noticed her younger sister started to look uneasy. Camille sunk into the couch, holding a pillow to her chest.

"WATER HELPS PLANTS GROW!! AND GROW!! AND BRINGS GREEN INTO OUR LIVES!!! LOTS AND LOTS OF... green."

Marinette's eyes averted toward the television, and she saw wooden puppets of some type, singing a song about water and plants. "Maybe we should watch something else."

Speed-walking to the remote, she picked it up and changed it to another kids station, skipping straight past the horror movies. Leaving the remote there, she went back to the carrots, turning off the stove. 

Marinette took the chopped carrots out and sliced them even further down. She reheated the noodles for another minute. 

Glancing at the clock while waiting for the noodles to finish, she saw that the meetup and already been going for a over an entire hour. She only had around fifty minutes left until it was over. Hopefully Alya wouldn't leave yet.

Jumping at the sound of the microwave, Marinette spun around to face the machinery. She jammed her fingers into the button to open the microwave, and wrapped her fingers around the warm bowl to pick it up. She poured the noodle soup out of the bowl, then placed the wet noodles onto a flat plate. Sprinkling in the cut carrot pieces, she was actually proud of her procrastinating excuse for a dinner. She cut the noodles into pieces, just as her mother told her to. 

Pouring a glass of apple juice for Camille, she picked up the plate with the other hand and placed it on the table. "Your food is ready," Marinette informed Camille, causing her to perk up. 

The child jumped up from the couch and bounced over to the table. Her face immediately fell at the sight of the noodles. 

They looked really soggy.

"Oh, almost forgot! You use chopsticks, right? Here you go!" Marinette bent down to grab a pair from a lower kitchen cabinet. 

Camille hesitantly took the sticks, but gave Marinette as thankful of a smile that was possible over the disgust of the thin, weak noodles. Trying not to appear ungrateful, as her grandmother had taught, she shakily positioned her sticks, and took a small bit of the noodles before placing it into her mouth. 

It was so watery and tasteless.

"Great! So I'm just going to do something important. If Mom asks, I fed you," Marinette smiled, but it dropped when she turned around to see her mother, looking cross and irritated. 

"You're not going anywhere, young lady," Sabine tried to compose her tone and anger around Camille, but her irritation was very apparent. The younger girl sunk into her chair, trying to eat the tasteless noodles to try and make her older sister happy again. 

"Mom! I-I was actually at the store, and I was on my way home, but A-Alya saw me and I stopped in to say hi, and-" Marinette rambled slowly, trying to make her excuse sound less jumbled. 

Sabine noticed her eye contact straying away, and knew her daughter was lying. That nervous smile gave everything away, and she could tell it was an excuse for something else. "Please stop lying to me, Marinette. Just tell me the truth. I saw you on live television with Alya, and you did not seem in a hurry to get home. Also why were you just trying to leave now? Without telling me?"

Marinette's heart jumped into her throat, and she knew she was stuck. Behind her mother, she noticed she had forty minutes left to get to the meet-and-greet. 

Her silence carried and hung over the last questions asked by Sabine. She was scared to respond, knowing anything else would be a lie. Her eyes broke contact with her mother's, and she stared at the ground apologetically.

"I have to get back to helping with the bakery, but if you can't tell me, you don't have to. Fine," Sabine finally spoke, but her voice sounded on the edge of breaking into either tears of disappointment or frustration. Maybe it was both. 

Marinette's own eyes brimmed with tears, and she tried to blink them away. She felt so guilty, but it was her life, and people depended on her presence.

"You can't leave the house anymore. You're grounded."

"Mom!" Marinette cried out in protest, but the stern look her mother had given her was filled with emotion as well as authority. 

"Please, my friends need my help with the project, and our grades will drop if I don't help. Please..." she begged, doing her best to look her mother in the eyes. 

Even through all the sincerity of her daughter's oceanic blue eyes, there was still something missing. Her trust was breaking with every lie, and it hurt her heart to not be able to trust Marinette. Although she might've not been telling the entire truth, there was no way she believed her daughter would be doing something completely wrong or dangerous.

Looking back at Marinette, she could see the tears brimming. Maybe it was in her best interest to give her one more chance; this could be her test. 

"Okay, just for school. I'll give you two hours for this project, then be home immediately. Do you understand?" Sabine gave in, but still maintained a stern tone. 

Her eyes brightened, but didn't completely clear of the tears. A smile overcame her, and she gave her mother a hug in gratitude. "I promise! Thank you, Mom!"

Camille followed Sabine down the stairs, and Marinette ran over to the last place Tikki hid. Once it was clear, the kwami flew out of her spot. "That was so close! I know this is so hard for you to balance, but I know you can do it! Stay positive, Marinette!" She cheered her on. 

Still afraid she would break into tears if she spoke, the teenager nodded with a smile, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. Tikki flew into her purse, and Marinette went out the back door of her house. 

The girl ran down the stairs, and made her way into an empty alley behind a garbage can. Calling on her transformation, Marinette became her heroine self, Ladybug. 

It was time to crash the meet-up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve set an update schedule of a chapter everyday around this time, or earlier, so I’ll be continuing this schedule until I reach Chapter 10 (which is where I’m still writing #11)! After that, it might be one to two weeks between updates.
> 
> I hope you’re enjoying the story so far! 😄

After making her transformation, Ladybug rushed to to meetup, nearly running into the heavy glass door when she arrived. She shoved it open quickly, stumbling in to see that there were significantly less people there to meet. 

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I just- wow had so much going on and I'm here! What time is it?" Ladybug announced, sitting at the desk quickly beside her partner. 

"Twenty minutes before the meetup ends! My lady is very very fashionably late," Chat Noir teased, grinning. 

"Oh no! Is Alya here? I heard from a worried civilian friend of hers that she had to do an interview for school," Ladybug asked him, glancing around at the people still there. 

"I saw her here earlier. I'm sure she's around here somewhere," he replied, passing her a picture of the both for the two of them to sign for a fan. 

She scribbled down her persona name over the corner of the picture beside Chat Noir's. 

"Oh, there she is!" He pointed out to his partner at the anxious, nearly tearful blogger who happened to be pacing in the crowd.

"Lovely to meet you!" Ladybug shook another hand, posing for a quick photo with a fan.

After she finished, she promised the next fan she'd be back in a second. Ladybug got up from the table, walking over to Alya. The girl was scanning for updates of Ladybug's whereabouts on her phone, her lip trembling with anxiety for her grade. 

"Alya! I heard from your friend, Marinette, I think her name was? Anyways she told me as I was running over here that you were in need of an interview!" Ladybug called out, causing Alya to sigh in relief. 

"Ladybug!! Thank goodness you're here! I was so scared you weren't going to show up! Marinette told you about my project?" Alya nearly hugged the heroine with relief and appreciation.

"Yes! Okay, so there's twenty minutes left here, and I might have to stay ten minutes after to help clean up and say bye to a few people, but how about when all this is over, I can personally give you an interview and help you out with your paper? Is that okay?" She asked her friend, who had no clue that she was actually talking to Marinette behind that mask. 

"That's actually really awesome of you!! Oh my goodness, thank you so so so much!!" Alya began to cry.

"I'm so sorry I didn't show up earlier! I was super busy with things and it got out of control! But it's really no problem! It shouldn't take too long anyways with the both of us working on your paper!" Ladybug gave her a friendly hug.

With that, Alya sat around while Ladybug continued to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. Just like always, the news people made a significant deal about the whole ordeal of her tardiness and fans continued to choose Ladybug over Chat Noir when it came to pictures. The girl always tried to involve her partner when she could, but children were persistent about having their favorite heroine all to themselves. 

Chat Noir tried not to take it to heart, as he did love Ladybug as well. Albeit he loved her a bit more than her fans due to his major crush on her, it was understandable to him. 

"Hey, let's get this cool cat in here!" Ladybug yanked his arm to get him in the photo. 

Giving another one of his signature grins for the camera, he let it fade once he heard the snap. 

"Awesome meeting you!" Ladybug gave a younger boy a high-five before he followed his mother out the door. 

After all the fans got their turns taking pictures with the heroes and getting their autographs, Ladybug and Chat Noir began to help clean up. 

"Again, I'm sorry I was so late. I just had to do things at home before coming and I nearly got grounded. Things were crazy," Ladybug apologized to her partner, pulling down the banner gently. 

"No problem! I had things handled. Although, maybe you could call ahead and let us know if you're running a little late," Chat joked, winking. 

"No kidding. I saw the news and freaked out! There were news reporters reporting how I hadn't showed up," Ladybug sighed, "Luckily, I didn't get anyone akumatized this time. Remember Copycat?"

"Ugh, him... I think he was my least favorite akuma," he admitted, rolling his eyes at the memory.

"He nearly got you arrested, Kitty! I don't blame you!" Ladybug replied, folding the large banner before placing it on the table in front of them. 

"Detransforming in the slammer would've been catastrophic!" 

"You and your puns... I'm just the luckiest person in all of Paris to listen to every single pun of yours," Ladybug placed their name plates over the folded banner. 

"I could spot that pun of yours from here!" 

"Lucky isn't a pun for Ladybug," Ladybug grumbled, walking toward the door to turn out the lights as Chat continued to pick up small pieces of trash. 

"Oh, but it is! You know how ladybugs are so lucky?" 

"Uh... sure. Anyways, I gotta meet Alya for that interview. I'll see you tomorrow!" Ladybug flipped the switch, turning out the lights. 

With his night-vision, the hero followed her out, separating once they got outside. 

Ladybug found Alya sitting on a planter outside, and asked, "Ready to go?"

Alya glanced up from her phone to see Ladybug, then she locked it, shoving it down to her pocket. "Yeah! I'm ready! Can I interview you with my phone while we're in my room?" She asked.

"Of course!" Ladybug grabbed Alya, then used her yoyo string to quickly take them across the rooftops to her house. 

As Ladybug held her friend while they were running across rooftops, Alya noticed Marinette's rooftop. 

"Oh! I need to thank Marinette for telling you!" She realized, squirming a little.

"She's not home right now! I actually heard her tell me that she was... um- heading out to the... uh- classrooms! Yeah, I think that was what she said." Ladybug struggled to think of a good excuse. She felt as if her brain was fried at that point. "Let's get your homework done!"

Alya mentally shrugged it off, assuming Ladybug was just forgetful or something. She watched from Ladybug's firm grasp at the city as she was carried from rooftop to rooftop. At one point she feared heights, but eventually grew out of it. The sight made her stomach a little uneasy, but it wasn't horrifying as it used to be. 

Eventually they landed in Alya's room. "So, what's this interview about?" Ladybug asked, glancing around the room, stopping as she noticed little action figures of herself and Chat Noir holding hands. 

"Oh, it's just about your job in general. I have to ask questions like what it's like to be a superhero, what consequences, what privileges you have, and such. You can sit on my bed or the chair," Alya offered, pointing at the areas. 

Not wanting to seem unprofessional or rude as a respectful crime-fighting city official, Ladybug took her seat on the chair with a gracious smile. Alya sat on the other, across from the tired-looking heroine.

"So is there anything you need? Water? Snacks? This might take a little while, so make yourself comfortable please," The student journalist suggested enthusiastically as she zipped open her backpack to pull out her notebook and pencil.

"I'm great! Totally fine," Ladybug insisted with a laugh, crossing a leg over her other as she lay her hands down over her knees patiently. 

"Okay, just let me know if there's anything you need! Anyway, let's get on with the first question. What or who inspired you to become a superhero?" 

Ladybug sat still for a moment, trying to decide how she could possibly answer this without giving away private information. "Well, it was more like a selective thing. I was chosen. At first, the responsibility scared me, but with the support of my partner, Chat Noir, he inspired me to keep going," she answered. 

Alya scribbled down the response furiously before moving on to the next question. 

"What are the positive aspects about being Ladybug? Are there any negative ones?" The girl asked, preparing herself. 

"Oh, there are so many positive aspects! I love being able to protect citizens and getting to live a different life. Ladybug is like a persona, or like a video game I get to live through as a character. I love getting the freedom of running across rooftops and flying across the city with a yoyo," Ladybug expressed, a smile forming over her. 

Alya quickly wrote down her response.

Her smile slowly faded as she began to continue her reply, "However, there are less fun aspects about being a superhero like having to actually fight people I know under the influence of evil. Sometimes, it really scares me when I have to fight people I care about. Even when Chat Noir gets changed into someone or something else, it scares me to think that changing everyone to their former selves depends on my abilities. You remember the akuma, Zombiezou? That was the scariest time."

 

Alya's writing slowed down as she looked up to see the emotionally distressed superheroine. 

"And of course, sometimes I feel as if I need to be in multiple places at one with having two separate identities, but I can deal with it. Anyways, I love being Ladybug, and I know that it's a big responsibility. Until I'm no longer needed, I promise I will always protect Paris and keep civilians safe," Ladybug added. Of course she loved the freedom of being a heroine, and all the appreciation of the citizens she protected, but recently, it had become a little overwhelming.

"What personality traits do you think are necessary to be a superhero?" Alya asked, barely finishing up copying her response from the last question. 

"Well, I think being driven is definitely important for a hero. You have to keep your focus and always push yourself to the goal, no matter how far-fetched it may seem. Also being creative is another trait you must have. You have to constantly find ideas on how to win or at least gain an advantage in a battle. If I were to ever go clueless on Chat Noir, it would be a disaster," Ladybug laughed a little. 

"It's also important that you are able to work with another person. Chat Noir and I work best as a team, and without him, defeating akumas would be way more difficult," she added onto her response.

With another hour, Ladybug was able to finish the interview. Having helped Alya start on her essay for the whole thing, she was suddenly interrupted by an akuma attack. 

"Looks like there's another akuma! I'll be back, but try and get as much done if your essay as possible! I'll see if I could help you figure out the rest," Ladybug promised as she began to climb out the window. 

She climbed out to get on the rooftops to get an overview of her target. Chat Noir made his way over to her with his baton.

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you again so late, m'lady," he greeted her, yawning.

"It's like four hours to midnight. Why are you so tired?" Ladybug poked fun at him.

"More like three, but whatever. My father makes me go to bed at eight," Chat Noir replied.

Ladybug widened her eyes in surprise, but shook it off. "That's a bit early, but let's get to the akuma. I've got a report to finish and a home to get to," she told him.

"Then let's get to it! Looks like it's... a... what the heck is that?" Chat Noir squinted, trying to see from afar.

Ladybug swing closer, and noticed it was a tiny bug villain.

"How in the world did Hawkmoth manage to turn a person into a bug villain?" She grumbled to her partner. 

"Maybe they really like bugs," Chat offered. 

Ladybug used her yoyo to swing at it, but the heavier part nearly crushed the bug villain, causing it to bury itself into the dirt. 

"No, no! Now he's going to get lost and we're going to lose-" she complained before all of a sudden, the ground below her began to shake. 

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir yelled, pointing to the cracks opening in the sidewalk. 

The first thing she saw erupt from below was a fifty-foot ant crawl up from the ground. After it, many more bugs crawled up: more ants, spiders, beetles, worms. 

Yelping, she found herself breaking into a sprint toward her partner. "Bugs?! Giant bugs?! I'm already scared of regular-sized bugs!" She cried, running as she pulled him along. 

"Lucky Charm!" She screamed while running. Chat Noir grabbed her item that had fallen, then handed it to her once she and him were out of sight. 

"It's a... really long science book?" She took it from him. 

"Well, I guess that means we're going to read it and bore the villain until his akuma comes out," Chat Noir joked.

She rolled her eyes, giggling a little. Taking a look at the pages, sure enough it was science. It was more on the technological side of science, but regardless she wasn't able to find a reason she'd need a science book. 

Maybe she could throw it at one of the large bugs to distract it while Chat Noir looked for the small bug villain to grab it's akumatized object.

After diverging her plan to her partner, she shakily took a step toward one of the huge beetles guarding the hole they initially came up from. 

With one big toss, she managed to hit the beetle in the lower foot, causing it to let out a gigantic inhuman screech. The air from its beak blew past her face like wind, causing her to begin to run once it spread its enormous wings. 

"Chat!!! Now!!" She screamed, using her yoyo to pull herself away as quickly as possible. 

The beetle was basically breathing down her neck as it tried to nip at her with its mandibles. The pinchers were barely touching her hair as she pushed harder to run more quickly. 

Riskily, she let go of her yoyo and let herself slide below the beetle with the knowledge that it would take more time to turn around. The first beeps signified her of the limited time.

Tossing the yoyo to another building chimney, it wrapped around it and yanked her away quickly as it screeched yet again. 

Her partner, practically sweating with worry for Ladybug, dug through the hole in an effort to find the small bug villain.

As Ladybug continued to try to escape the horrific beetle, she saw what she assumed to be a thirty-foot spider coming toward Chat Noir, so she used her yoyo to pull its leg back.

Hearing another dinosaur-sounding screech, she saw the large, long-legged arachnid coming toward her. 

She tried not to let out another scream, but its face was absolutely horrifying at the scale. A whimper escaped her, and she continued to run as quickly as possible. Another few beeps signified her of her last three minutes.

Using her yoyo, she pulled herself in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, but was panicked to see how bug infested it had become. More and more bugs were erupting from other holes, and she looked around helplessly. 

She turned around, yelling out to the city as she swung around the buildings, "Stay inside!! Don't open your windows! Everyone find shelter!!" 

Alya, with her window shut, saw more bugs beginning to chase Ladybug. More spiders began to notice the small girl with the bug-like pattern. With their hunting instincts, they began to chase her, building webs to keep her from escaping.

Continuing to find small escapes, the heroine used her yoyo to find higher heights. 

Most buildings were shorter than bugs in height, so naturally, hiding wasn't easy. The spiders hunted Ladybug like prey, and monitored her movements. With long legs, they managed to entrap her, but she slid quickly underneath them. The fangs of the spiders scraped Ladybug's stomach a little as she slid out. 

Running out of breath, the girl heard her earrings let out the warning of two remaining minutes. Was Chat Noir any closer to finding the akuma?

She spent one of her minutes trying to find a hiding place from the bugs, but they all managed to follow her. 

The last minute, she was cornered without any heights to latch her yoyo around. All civilians had been safely hidden, meaning only her and Chat Noir were exposed to the large bugs. 

Her last beep made her wince in worry, letting out a whimper as she caught her kwami in her purse. "Tikki," she breathed anxiously, "we're cornered."

Her kwami's head spun around in both directions, trying to see if there was any possible escape. None. It was all just brick around them, and no weapons to ward them off.

"Tikki, you see that tiny space under the spider's legs?" Marinette whispered, pushing her own back to the wall as far as she could as if she could blend against it and make the bugs not see her as food. 

Her kwami looked, then glanced back at her holder. 

"Just escape."

"Marinette!" The kwami scolded worriedly.

A spider's furry mouth fangs snapped open, and all of its large black eyes glared at the girl as it lowered its head toward her. 

"Go Tikki!" She squealed, holding her arms over her head. She heard the whiz of the kwami as she held her eyes shut. 

 

Was this it? Was she really going to be killed by a giant spider? There was no Ladybug to restore her.

Squeezing her eyes shut as she balled herself into the furtherest corner, she braced herself for the worst. She hid her face behind her legs, wrapping her arms around her legs.

Just as she felt the fur of the spider brush over the skin of her neck, she heard the crash down of the wall behind her and felt herself being quickly scooped into the arms of someone wearing leather. 

"Marinette, why weren't you hiding?! You could've been eaten alive by a bunch of spiders!" Chat Noir scolded her as she clung onto him with relief. 

Breathing heavily, she let out some mumbled response about having to pick up dinner and getting cornered by random bugs. 

"Thank goodness you're safe! Gosh, that was a close call," Chat Noir held his friend tightly in the bridal position. With her arms wrapped around his neck, she was flown across the city with her partner's baton. 

 

Arriving at her balcony, he opened her trap door and lowered the shaky girl down into her bed. Her arms hesitantly released her grip from around his neck. 

"Mari!" Camille squealed out to her older sister, obviously relieved by her presence. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Why weren't you with Alya?! I called her parents, and they said you hadn't been over with her, and we were scared to death that something bad happened to you!" Sabine yelled, climbing up the bed ladder to hug her daughter. 

"Please make sure she's safe. It's really dangerous," Chat Noir slipped his hand off her shoulder as she clutched a hand over her stomach, which hurt from the spider's fang scratching it.

"I-I'm fine," she said, trying not to sound completely shaken up about nearly becoming spider food. 

"You and Camille are staying in the living room where we can watch you two and make sure you guys are safe," Tom added.

"Thank you, Chat Noir," Sabine made sure to thank the hero. 

"No problem! Stay safe, Marinette," Chat Noir said as he opened the trap door above his head. 

With a bug shoving its face up to the opening, Marinette yanked him back and locked the trap door.

"Son, you should probably stay in here until the bugs clear," Tom suggested as he walked both his wife and younger daughter out of the room.

Chat Noir wanted to protest, but once he looked behind one of the covers that were thrown to cover the window for Camille's sake, he saw another bug waiting. It seemed like bugs were waiting around a lot of people's windows. 

"I'll try to figure out a plan to find a way out where the bugs can't get to me," Chat Noir decided, but was obviously nervous for Ladybug, "Mari, on your way back, did you happen to see Ladybug? Is she okay?" 

Marinette blinked, gaping anxiously at the idea of lying again. "Uh... yeah! I saw her find her way to safety in someone's apartment. They took her in quickly, and she's okay."

"Okay, thank you. Are you okay? Did any of the bugs bite you or anything?" Chat asked, lifting her arm to check for injuries.

The arm he picked up lifted her hand from her stomach, which was covering the small bit of redness that moistened the shirt. "Marinette!" He exclaimed as he looked at it.

"I'm fine," she said, yanking her hand back down to cover her stomach.

"Go disinfect it! I don't want you dying from spider venom poisoning," Chat Noir placed a hand over her shoulder. 

"I'm sure it's not venomous, Chat," Marinette sighed, walking over to the sink in her room to rinse the scratch. 

"You don't know that!" He panicked, having remembered the many lectures he received from his father about the dangers of playing outside in the park with bugs. 

"I appreciate your concern, but you and Ladybug have an akuma to catch," Marinette persisted.

"Is the scratch red or purple? Do you have a headache? Fever? Chills? Anxiety? Gosh, Ladybug would know what to do! Maybe she'd have a Lucky Charm to make sure it's not going to kill you," the hero paced restlessly. 

The girl sighed, lifting her shirt to look at the scratch over her belly. Just above the belly button, some of the blood had leaked into it. Chat screeched and grabbed a towel from her sink to cover it. 

"Calm down. It's not inflamed or anything," she assured him as he held the towel over her belly.

"We need ice!" He ran down her trap door.

"You need to fight the akuma and save Paris!" Marinette yelled after him, dropping the towel to check her purse. 

Sure enough, Tikki had hidden in there when she heard Chat Noir coming. "Are you okay, Marinette?!" She asked in a hurried whisper.

"I'm fine. Just got cut by a spider fang or something, but I'm good," Marinette told her. 

"I just need to get back out there and-" she continued before Chat Noir cut her off. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" 

She snapped her purse shut, spinning around to see him holding out a bag of ice, "I am not going to let you go out with those crazy bugs. Not until all of them are back to normal and the akuma is gone. Understood, little lady?" 

Marinette crossed her arms, "What if I had superpowers? Would you let me go out then?" She asked challengingly. She could feel Tikki shifting uncomfortably in her purse, signifying she was taking too large of a risk.

"Hmm... I'd think about it, but I don't want you dead. The final answer is no."

Marinette couldn't help but giggle a bit at how protective he was being, "Chill out, Dad."

He deadpanned, "I just want you to be safe. You're such a good friend to me, Marinette. You've helped me in battles, and I can't risk losing a civilian friend I've made as a superhero." The boy held out the ice pack for her to take.

Wordlessly, she took it and held it over her stomach. She didn't know what to say. Honestly, she didn't think that her partner took her that seriously as a civilian, but he truly cared about her. He even considered her a friend.

The hero glanced out the window once more, and checked to see that the coast was clear. "Do you need help getting back up to your bed or do you just want to lie on the chaise? You should rest and take care of that spider scratch," he offered. 

"I- uhm... I'll just," Marinette couldn't think straight for a moment. He was being so kind to her right now, and she just wasn't able to process it. Of course she'd known he was kind to civilians and flirty with Ladybug, but she couldn't shake the sweet feeling. She didn't expect her face to turn red, but Chat Noir caught notice and thought it might be a fever. 

"I'll help you up," he gave her a soft smile, lifting her carefully. He placed her down on the bed.

Quickly, he grabbed another towel from the sink area and rinsed it under cold water. Climbing back up, he placed it over her forehead. "That's for your fever. A-Anyways," he chuckled, "I guess I'll see you around? Feel better soon. Also, stay safe. Do you want me to check up on you after the akuma attack?"

"U-Uh, sure? Yeah, that's fine. Stay s-safe too," Marinette replied, lying flat on her back. 

"Thanks, little lady. I'll see you later then," Chat Noir gave her a two-fingered solute before leaving from her trap door. 

She stared at the ceiling for a minute before making sure he was far away enough to not see Ladybug coming out of her room. Dropping the wet towel on the pillow beside her and pushing the ice pack off her belly, she climbed back down her ladder to get Tikki.

"Can you sneak yourself into the bakery to grab some food, Tikki? It's closed up from the akuma attack," Marinette asked her kwami once she opened the purse.

"Of course, Marinette," Tikki whispered as she snuck and flew through the door. 

A few moments later, she heard a small push and fall of the trap door. Slightly grimacing at the pain of her stomach, she bent over to pull the trap door open. 

"Oh, hi Camille," Marinette grabbed her hand and helped her up.

"Mari, is the cat hero your boyfriend?" Camille asked, sitting directly beside her sister.

"No, he's in love with somebody else," Marinette explained, laughing a bit at the concept.

"And you and A-Adwin are both in love?" Camille struggled to remember Marinette's crush's name.

"I don't know," Marinette answered truthfully, "According to an eavesdrop, I heard him refer to me as a very good friend."

"Aren't good friends in love?" Camille asked innocently.

Marinette laughed a little, "You should go watch some T.V."

Mostly just trying to distract the younger girl so she could leave the room and help Chat Noir, Marinette saw Tikki slip into her purse. 

"But aren't you coming?" 

"I have to rest, but I'll be ba—ck awake tomorrow! Yeah, awake!"

The girl wished her sister goodnight before slipping down into the living room. 

"Marinette, what happened to you? How did you end up getting so caught up in the attack?" Sabine asked frantically checking her daughter's wound. 

Tom ran for the first aid kit, causing Marinette to sigh. "I'm totally fine," she insisted, "I just... noticed that there were some children getting chased by huge spiders and I wanted to get them back to their parents. I ended up... distracting them? Yeah, and the spiders chased me and Chat Noir saved the day!" 

"Please please please be careful next time, sweetie," Sabine begged, taking the aid kit from Tom. 

After cleaning the wound, her mother wrapped a bandage around her stomach to keep her from bleeding any further.

"You should get some rest," Tom said, "Never mind school tomorrow. It's dangerous and you're injured."

Marinette knew she should disagree, but after that night she'd be fighting the bug akuma, she was going to be extremely tired the next day. "Thank you, Papa. I'll definitely rest up," She smiled appreciatively.

Heading back up to her room, she saw Camille was asleep. Marinette went on her bed to transform just in case, then climbed up to her rooftop from the opening. 

As Ladybug, she saw the bugs were walking around, but not close enough to her own building. Avoiding bug-infested areas, Ladybug made her way to the big hole that most of the bugs had crawled out of to find the tiny bug villain. She saw dirt flying up as a male voice muttered incoherent phrases out of irritation. 

"Chat Noir? Did you find him yet?" The heroine asked as she arrived.

"No... I swear, he probably escaped on top of another big bug," Chat Noir replied from the hole with an echo.

"Darn... Well he has to be somewhere. Let me try the Lucky Charm again," Ladybug took a leap into the hole where she heard her partner's nails scratching through the dirt. 

After summoning her power, she was given the same text book. 

She threw her arms up, "Again?! This thing already failed me!"

"No kidding. This ridiculous akuma nearly got Marinette killed," Chat Noir muttered. 

"Oh, I just saw Marinette in the street. She's totally fine," Ladybug waved herself off, unaware of her partner's face contorting in horror.

"Why is that girl in the street?! I just put her to bed! She's going to get hurt and I swear I'm-" Chat Noir scrambled out of the hole. 

Ladybug's eyes widened as she realized what he thought was happening. "Wait, she's fine! She was just closing the door!" She lied. 

"Are you sure she went back inside? It's dangerous for any civilian to be out right now," he said in a serious tone. 

"I'm paw-sitive, Chat," she tried to cheer him up a little, seeing as he was a bit tired and frustrated with this akuma.

He pushed a short smile, but she could tell he was still worried about Marinette's safety. 

"If we defeat this akuma, all the injuries and mess will go away, so let's just find this little jerk," Ladybug reassured him. 

She looked back down at the science book. What could it be used for? Looking inside, she found it was about robots. 

Robots... 

Max? 

Markov!! 

Maybe Markov could help them! He was a really smart robot, and with Max's help, they could definitely figure out how to defeat this akuma. 

"Chat, I figured out the Lucky Charm!" She turned around to him with a smile.

"You did? What is it for?" He asked. 

"Remember Robustus? Markov, Max's little friend? There's a chapter about robots in this book, and maybe it's directing us to Markov so he could help us plan something to defeat this akuma," Ladybug explained, showing him the book. 

"Oh, that's a good idea. Where can we find Markov? Do you know where Max lives?" Chat asked her, yawning.

"No, but maybe someone we know does. I'll ask Alya," Ladybug pulled out her yoyo to dial her friend's number. Of course the girl had given the heroine her number in case of anything, so it was easy to reach her. 

Within the conversation, she learned the address of Max's house, then carefully set off with Chat Noir to find him. Staying low and out of sight to avoid the large predator bugs, the two finally managed to sneak to their destination successfully. After knocking on the door, Max came out to the front, unsure of why the heroes specifically wanted to talk to him. 

"Hi there, I... uh, can we talk to Markov? And you of course! My powers led me to you two, because we can't exactly figure out how to defeat this akuma villain," Ladybug jumped right in.

"Sure? Come on in," Max invited the masked couple into his parents' house.

As they stepped in, Ladybug peered around to check her surroundings. Did her powers want her to use something of Max's as well? 

"Ladybug? Cat Boy?" An older man rose his eyebrows, glancing toward Max. 

Chat Noir dropped his head, ashamed by the nickname. It appeared that a lot of people seemed to forget his hero name. Ladybug turned her gaze to meet her partner, but turned back to Max as he spoke.

"Oh Dad, the heroes needed to talk to me," Max informed the man.

"Oh, it's no problem. Go on ahead," he replied, turning back to the television. Ladybug noticed the news report consisted of people in helicopters, recording the bugs from a great height, and squirmed a bit. 

"Follow me," Max told the heroes, waving his hand as he led them into the hallway toward his room. Calling out Markov, his robot friend, the superhero pair shared glances between one another. How should they go about this?

"Hello Markov!" Ladybug greeted, smiling at the small robot. Her partner waved from behind her.

"Greetings, Ladybug. Greetings, Chat Noir. How may I be of assistance to you both?" Markov asked politely.

Ladybug took a breath, glancing out the window. "Well... uh, there's been a crazy akuma! He's a small villain who can make bugs around him grow to incredible sizes. The only problem we're facing is that we aren't sure where to find the man, who coincidentally shrinked down to bug proportions and snuck away in the dirt. I used my powers, and it guided me to find you," she explained, holding up the robotics book.

"A bug akuma, huh? Logically, we can track him by following the directions that the newer bugs are coming from, then we can find the holes they've dig themselves out from. You'll find the main center he's using to transform these bugs, leading you straight to him," Markov told them, swinging the small claw back and forth.

"Then let's go defeat this guy."


	6. Chapter 6

With Max and Markov's advice, the crime-fighting duo was finally able to stop the bug akuma. By following the robot's advice and silently creeping below the bugs until they found where they were spawning from, Chat Noir destroyed the space around with a cataclysm, and Ladybug rescued the victim by purifying his akuma. It took a whole other transformation for the girl, seeing as her time was limited after the charm, but she fed Tikki well enough for another go. 

Once everything was returned to normal, Ladybug felt her wound heal, as well as saw all the bugs shrink and return back into the ground. It had been a long night, and by the time the team brought the akumatized victim back to his home, it was already three in the morning. 

"I am so so sorry I caused all that disaster! All I wanted was for people to stop squashing bugs, especially after they crushed my pet tarantula..." He apologized. 

"I'm so sorry about your- Wait, isn't that a tarantula?" Chat Noir shook his head as he saw a little furry spider jumping around in the cage. 

"Harold!! You've been saved!" The man cheered, emotionally embracing the metal cage containing the creature. 

Ladybug felt her eye twitch at encountering another large bug, but she smiled happily for the reunion of a man and his pet. The two bid the victim and his tarantula farewell, then hopped out to the rooftops.

"P-pound it?" Chat Noir yawned sleepily, weakly holding out his slightly closed fist for a celebratory fist-bump with his partner.

"Pound it," she chuckled, gently returning his fist-bump, "Go to sleep, Kitty. You're going to end up detransforming on someone's roof if you don't hurry home."

"Do you think you can check on my friend for me?.. I wanna make sure she got healed too," he said, his cat ears drooped with exhaustion. 

"Marinette?!" She felt herself jolt with a bit of a panic as she had to awkwardly mention her civilian self, "Y-Yeah... Sure! I'll take care of her. Go home, Chat!" 

"Until next time, bugaboo," he used his staff to quickly head off into another direction.

"He's bugaboo-calling me again," she giggled, sighing with exasperation.

After reaching her rooftop, Ladybug happily let her transformation drop before opening the trap door to her bedroom. She purposely fell backwards into her bed, then closed the door gently. Once she closed it, she went straight to sleep.

* * *

"Mari! Mari... Mari!!" A small voice squeaked out from beside the sleeping teenager, but she didn't move an inch. 

Camille poked Marinette's shoulder gently, causing her to mumble out what sounded like, "Five more minutes, Tikki..."

"Who's Tikki?" Camille asked, but garnered no response from the older girl. 

The kwami, who happened to be on the other side of Marinette, where she was turned over, decided to talk for her instead, "Oh, I must've been having a dream! Oopsies! Why don't you ask Mama to make breakfast while I get ready?"

"Mama said she'd be out on another cake drive with Papa," Camille replied to the sleeping girl, who was currently facing the wall, "Why do you sound like a mouse?"

Tikki froze from the other side, then cleared her throat. She tried then to lower her voice, "Sorry, my voice sounds weird when I'm tired."

The little girl sat beside the sleeping Marinette, "Can we please go back to the park before school?"

'Wait, Marinette has school?! She has to wake up quickly!' Tikki thought to herself worriedly. 

She took a deep breath, mentally apologizing to her holder before yanking harshly on her dark bangs.

The girl's eyes flew open, and she jumped up, holding her hands to her hair with confusion. "Wh-" she started, but then Tikki smiled sheepishly, hidden on her lap as she pointed behind her.

"Oh... what's going on?" Marinette asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Can we go to the park again before we go to school?" Camille repeated her question. 

"School? Where do you go to school? Wait, did Mama and Papa sign you up yet?" Marinette asked the child. 

"I don't think so. Mama said she would do it later."

"If I have to go to school... then where would you go?" Marinette asked, slowly eyeing her kwami as a silent beg for assistance. 

The kwami mouthed without making any sounds, "Just take her."

"To school with me?" Marinette mouthed back. 

She nodded quickly. The girl knew this was probably a weird idea, but it was better than leaving the smaller girl alone or just flat out ditching class. She'd just have to keep her away from Chloe and anyone who could potentially hurt the child.

"Hey Camille, how do you feel about coming to class with me?" Marinette asked her little sister, watching as she looked down at the distance from the floor nervously. 

She glanced up at Marinette and nodded, her messy pigtails bouncing with her head. "Okay."

"Awesome! While we're in class, can you please stay as quiet as possible? I know it's going to be boring, but I promise I'll take you to the park again after school," Marinette promised. 

"Okay," she replied, her tone a bit more upbeat. 

"Here, we can get ready really quickly, then go downstairs to grab some breakfast," Marinette began helping Camille down the ladder of her bunk bed. 

Once they both got down, Marinette opened one of the drawers of her sister's dresser. There were a couple dresses, as well as some sweaters beside to match. 

"Your favorite color is purple, right? Would you like to wear a purple dress?" Marinette asked the younger girl. She peeked inside to see the dress she was referring to. 

It was a mostly purple dress, with the top being designed with floral print and the skirt being a light purple tulle fabric. 

"That's my birthday dress. Grandma bought it for when I turn five years old. It's big, but Grandma said she will fix it if it doesn't fit," Camille explained, oblivious to the whereabouts of her grandmother. 

Marinette gulped, putting the dress back into the drawer. She glanced back into the drawer to see what else she could wear. 

How was she supposed to tell the four year old child that her first mother figure was now dead? What did she think was happening? 

"When is Grandma coming back? Uncle said she was gone," Camille asked, clutching the bottom of Marinette's shirt in her clenched fist. 

"Oh... uh," Marinette tried to think, as she didn't want to lie either. She hated liars herself, and it would be hypocritical to lie to a little girl. 

She looked over at Tikki helplessly, and the kwami glanced back worriedly. 

"I'm not sure," she answered quietly, looking back down at the clothes. She pulled out a pair of denim pants for the child, then a purple button-up sweater. 

"Do you need help getting dressed, or can you do it yourself?" Marinette asked her. 

"I can do it myself!" Camille assured her, so the teenager handed her the clothes. 

Marinette quickly grabbed a blue top and some white roll-up jeans to change in the bathroom downstairs. Once she finished changing, brushing her teeth, and fixing her hair into a single ponytail, she heard knocking from her trap door. She climbed up only to see Camille sitting in front of her with a playful smile. 

 

"I still dunno how to get down, Mari," she told her.

Marinette let out a small laugh, and showed her once again how to open the trap door and get down. On the way, she grabbed a brush and some purple ribbons.

Once they got back down, the teenager decided, "Let's fix your hair while you eat breakfast. We have to get to school before I'm late!" 

Marinette poured Camille a bowl of oatmeal, and the child pouted a little. "We own a bakery and you're giving me oatmeal?" She whined, causing Marinette to glance at her with confusion. 

She'd expected this from children like Manon, but she spent an entire day with the girl. Of course, she did learn that Camille was picky, based on the noodle dinner ordeal. 

"What's wrong with oatmeal? It's good for you," Marinette began to brush out Camille's hair as she sat down.

"Nothing, but why can't I have cookies for breakfast? Grandma wouldn't let me have it, and you're not Grandma," the child reasoned. 

"What about a cream-filled croissant?" Marinette offered, not wanting to begin an argument. 

A smile beamed on Camille's face, as she didn't actually expect that her sister would budge on her position. "Really?" She asked incredulously, turning around. 

Now that she was smiling and giving Marinette those baby-doll eyes, she couldn't turn back now. "Yeah," Marinette sighed with a little laugh, taking the oatmeal and putting it away as she went to grab the pastry. 

After Marinette finished Camille's pigtails, and the child finished her croissant, the teenager picked up her backpack. Slipping snacks in there for both Tikki and Camille, she and her sister walked out of the bakery. 

Once they walked all the way to the school, she heard the first bell ring. "Let's get to class before we're late!" Marinette hurried her pace as she held Camille's hand. 

Gaining a few awkward glances from students around her, she sat down beside a shocked Alya, scooting aside so Camille could sit on the end. 

"Listen Camille, at school, make sure you don't make any loud noises or walk around. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to take you to class or not, but at least be a good girl. Is that good?" Marinette told the child. 

She earned a nod from the girl as she shyly scooted closer to Marinette's side. With a small smile, the teenager gave her a thumbs-up. 

"Don't tell me Chloe was actually telling the truth!" Alya gasped, whisper-shouting. 

"Oh Alya! Meet Camille, she's with us today because my parents were busy at work," Marinette explained, introducing her. 

"She looks... just like you," Alya whispered, still incredulous. 

"I guess so," Marinette laughed, unsure of why Alya was acting so surprised. Of course she'd just introduced her to her sister, but the gasp she got from her recent answer really concerned her. "What's wrong?" She asked innocently. 

"You... Marinette! You're seventeen, she's probably like... four, meaning she was born when you were thirteen?! You never told me you were taking on these kind of responsibilities at such a young age, girl! What in the world?! How did you manage to keep this a secret?" Alya looked as if she were going to faint. 

"I didn't know until yesterday," Marinette tried to calm her down, still unsure why she was panicking. If anything, she thought Alya would be the most understanding, seeing as she had two younger sisters.

"How did you not know that she was born?! Okay... Okay. I'm just going to stop freaking out for a moment and tell you that I support you no matter what. If you need anything, I'm here for you," Alya placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. 

Marinette laughed uneasily, but thanked her friend's support. "Thank you, it's been a little bit crazy lately, but nothing I can't handle."

"Speaking of crazy things, did you and Ladybug-" The girl's voice faltered as she realized she never returned to help Alya finish her essay that early morning. 

Adrien entered the classroom, sitting in front of Marinette as he glanced at her with a gentle smile. He noticed Camille was with her, so he gave her a friendly wave. The small girl waved back shyly in return, clutching on Marinette's right arm. 

"Oh, we did meet up! She gave me all the responses and helped me start my essay. Some crazy bug akuma interrupted us, so I guess she spent the entire night fighting," Alya interjected, finishing what she thought Marinette was going to say. 

"T-That's great. Are you upset she didn't get to come back to help you?" The teenager asked her nervously. 

"I'm a little disappointed, but not in her. She was busy. At least I got to finish my essay and hang out with her for a little while," Alya said optimistically. 

"Wow... That's good you're finished then, huh?" Marinette offered a guilty half-smile. 

"Yeah, and I got the coolest report! I can't lie, I'm a bit nervous about presenting it," Alya sighed. 

"You'll do awesome!" She assured her friend. 

"Thanks, I sure hope so!" The redhead laughed nervously. She looked back at Camille, who was just randomly gazing around the classroom. "I actually never got to introduce myself to your little girl. Camille, I'm Alya, her best friend. I have a couple younger sisters who I'm sure would love to meet you!" Alya extended her hand to the younger girl. 

Shaking her hand gently, Camille shyly said, "Hi."

Meanwhile, Nino greeted his best friend. "Hey bro! I'm guessing you met Marinette's daughter already."

"Yeah I already met- wait, Marinette's daughter? Nino, that's her little sister," Adrien bursted out laughing at his friend's accusation. 

"Oh... that makes more sense, dude. Chloe's been telling everyone that Marinette has a daughter, so I thought she was lying. You know, typical Chloe. Then all of a sudden, Marinette shows up with this little girl, and now she's 'proving' Chloe's rumors right," Nino explained, making air-quotes around one of his words. 

Adrien's laughing stopped once he heard what Chloe had told everyone. "Wait, you're telling me that Chloe has been spreading lies about Marinette doing things like that? That's not a very nice thing to do."

Standing up, he walked over to Chloe, who had her blonde hair resting over her shoulders. Peeking over at her childhood crush, she jumped up to hug him. "Adrikinz!! You're here!" She kissed his cheek. Before he had the chance to speak, she told him, "Have you heard what Marinette did? Apparently her and Juleka's weird older brother had a secret child! She's a teenage mother now, ugh! What a weirdo!"

Adrien felt himself become defensive for his sweet friend. How could she be so cruel to such a kind girl?! "Chloe, did you know that's not her daughter? That's her little sister. It's not nice to go around and make up lies about Marinette, and even if it were true, it doesn't make it right for you to go tell everyone!" Adrien defended Marinette privately, not wanting to upset the girl who had already been caught up in a scary akuma attack. 

"How would you know if it was her sister or not?" Chloe placed her hands on her hips sassily.

"She told me herself, Chloe. Stop saying mean things about her. It's not very nice of you. Please, after class, go confess the truth to everyone you already told, and don't tell Marinette what you did. She's under enough stress already," Adrien told Chloe. 

Once the last bell rang, he went back to his seat, but sent a serious look to Chloe. She rolled her eyes, but took out her books along with the rest of the class. 

Ms. Mendeliev walked up to the front of the class, scribbling something down on her clipboard seriously. "Class, before we begin a new unit, we are going to review key terms in the lesson ahead. I expect all of you to complete your definitions by the end of the class period," she announced, still not having looked up at the class yet. 

Nervous about what she might say about Camille's presence, Marinette quietly motioned for her to stay low. Chloe took notice of this, and smirked at Sabrina, who gave her a nervous look. 

"I thought Adrien told you to stop. If you do something, he might not want to be your friend anymore," Sabrina warned her. 

"Ridiculous, he already pinky-promised me we would be best friends forever. He's not going to stop being my bestie because of Mari-trash," Chloe rolled her eyes once again, waving her friend's caution off. 

"Just... don't do anything to get the little girl caught. If Marinette gets in trouble, it might scare her," Sabrina told her, worrying for the child. She seemed nervous enough as it was, and getting her older sister in trouble might make her cry. 

"Oh, she'll be fine," Chloe huffed. 

Sabrina sighed, pulling out two sheets of paper for the both of them to begin their assignment. 

As attendance was taken, the teacher glanced around the classroom, to which Marinette threw a jacket over Camille's head, leaning her behind her back. 

"I see you're not late this time, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Ms. Mendeliev pointed out. 

"Got up earlier!" She exclaimed nervously and a little too enthusiastically to be considered average.

"Miss Cesaire is here," the teacher continued, practically ignoring her. It was characteristic, as she was a much stricter teacher. 

"What's that behind Marinette, Sabrina?" Chloe asked out loudly. 

"Miss Bourgeois, please keep your voice— Are you hiding something, Miss Dupain-Cheng?" The teacher's eyes burned behind Marinette, at the random lump covered by a jacket. 

"Uh..." Marinette's face burned with embarrassment as the teacher uncovered it to see a nervous little kid. 

"I can explain! My parents are busy and there's no one else to watch her. I promise she won't disrupt the class and," Marinette rambled, until the teacher cut her off. 

"As long as she's quiet!" She snapped, causing Camille to bury her face in Marinette's side with fear. 

"I'll make sure of it!" Marinette promised, relieved at her compliance. She hugged Camille reassuringly, but she continued to hide her face. 

"Me too!" Alya pitched in supportively. 

"That'll be fine then. Everyone, begin working!" The teacher demanded. 

A majority of the students sighed in relief at the teacher's agreement, seeing as they all were supportive of their kind classmate. 

Marinette struck a glare at Chloe, then turned back around to begin working. She looked back down at Camille, and quietly asked, "You okay?"

"S-She's scary, Mari," the little girl whispered, finally looking up at Marinette as tears ran from her eyes. 

"Aww no, don't be scared. She just wants us to learn. Why don't you draw a pretty picture on here?" Marinette pulled out a spare school notebook and pencil from her backpack for her to distract the child with.

"Okay," Camille sniffled, taking the items to begin drawing. 

Once she was set, Marinette used her own notebook to begin her classwork. 

"Chloe is so mean," Alya grumbled to Marinette. 

"I don't know what she wants, or why she's such a brat at times. Camille is more mature than Chloe," Marinette muttered back.

As the students worked all period, Camille pretended she was working too. She scribbled down random lines and curls as if she were copying down dictionary definitions like the teenagers.

Once the period was over, everyone turned in their work. Camille nervously handed over a notebook paper containing scribbles to the teacher as well, behind Marinette, catching Ms. Mendeliev off guard. 

"You finished your work too?" She rose an eyebrow, trying not to crack a smile. 

"Yes, I did it the whole time!" Camille replied, but then looked down shamefully, "Actually, I did it most of the time. I think I finished too fast."

"Oh? That's okay then," Ms. Mendeliev took it as if it were actual work. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. You don't have to," Marinette began to apologize, but then the teacher cut her off again. 

"No, she did her work and earned herself a decent grade," she used her grading pen to write an "A+" on it, then returned it to Camille. 

"Mari, what's that say?" She asked, tugging on her shirt a little. 

"It means you did well," Ms. Mendeliev managed to smile a little at the eagerness of a possible future student of hers. 

"Really?! Thank you, teacher," Camille said excitedly, hugging the paper. 

Marinette smiled at the teacher appreciatively, to which she gave a nod of acknowledgement in return. 

Once they left the classroom, Marinette overheard something from the lockers. 

"Didn't you know that your little crush already had a child with another guy? Oops, you didn't? Marinette is a weirdo teen mother."

 

"Chloe, I really don't care. I just need to get to art class," Nathaniel grumbled as the blonde was blocking his path. 

Marinette stopped in her tracks, putting together the whole strange ordeal as to why Alya was acting so weird about seeing her little sister. Chloe must've been spreading some crazy rumor! Oh, she was more than irritated at the blonde leech who was always giving her trouble. She was furious.

"Are you seriously going around telling people that my sister is my daughter, Chloe?!" Marinette yelled, causing Camille to look up at her with confusion.

Alya turned around, suddenly realizing what was happening. 

 

"You're my sister," Camille told her quietly.

"Definitely. It's just that Chloe is lying to everyone," Marinette explained to her gently. "Alya, would you mind taking Camille to our next class while I talk to her over here?" 

"Of course. Come here, small fry! We're going to the fun magical place called physical education!" Alya motioned for Camille to go over. 

She slowly let go of Marinette's hand, shyly walking over to Alya. "But what about Mari? Isn't she going to be with the big mean liar?" Camille asked worriedly. 

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She's just as strong as Ladybug!" Alya assured her, leading the girl away. She continued to glance back at her older sister worriedly.

Once she was out of sight, Marinette asked Chloe again, "Why are you lying to everyone?! You even knew at the park that she was my sister. Why are you spreading rumors about me?!" 

"Back off, Mari-trash. You're so dramatic. We don't want Miss Teenage Mommy here to have a heart attack!" Chloe mocked her. 

"Chloe, stop it!" Sabrina pulled her back. 

"Oh shut it, Sabrina. Is Mommy Mari going to go tattle to the teacher now? My daddy is the mayor, and he'll make sure I don't get in trouble," Chloe continued to mock, only angering Marinette further. 

"Too bad Adrien already thinks you're gross," the blonde taunted her, "Because he already knows too! Oopsies?"

"You know, you are such a sad person," Marinette laughed bitterly, clenching her fists tightly. 

If she punched Chloe, it wouldn't solve anything. It would only get her suspended, or expelled with her father's power. 

If she walked away, she wouldn't get expelled. Instead, she'd be able to walk away without punishment. 

But wasn't it worth it?

"Oh, I'm the sad one who has to carry and change dirty diapers for an ugly little boy," she persisted on, enjoying seeing her classmate get more and more red.

"You are crossing the boundary, Chloe! Stop!" Sabrina tried to yank her away. 

"She is not ugly, and she is not a boy! If you told her any of that, I'd personally slap you! Don't you know how mean that is?" Marinette asked her, her fists shaking with anger. Resisting the temptation to punch her was getting more and more challenging. 

Just as a black butterfly began to flap down to make its way to Marinette, Adrien stepped in.

"Chloe! I thought I told you to knock it off! Stop being mean to Marinette and her sister! You're not the nice girl I became friends with. You keep making people feel bad, and it's not very nice. Our friendship can't continue, Chloe." Adrien interjected, stepping in front of Marinette. 

Taking her by the hand, Adrien brought Marinette to their next class. "I'm so sorry about her, Marinette. It wasn't very nice of her to say those things about you and your sister," he apologized.

"She isn't nice. Teasing me is just irritating, but teasing my little sister is way beyond that," Marinette clenched her teeth.

Adrien saw the butterfly following her, so he immediately said, "I will never let her say anything like that again. You're one of my best friends and I won't let her get away with messing with you or your family!" 

"Thank you," she told him, but felt her heart sink a little at the word, friend. The fact that he was defending her made her crush on him expand even further. 

Adrien sighed when he saw the akuma fly back up into the sky. "Of course. Just stay positive and don't stress out about Chloe! Also are you okay from yesterday? I heard you got caught up in an akuma atttack!" He asked her, glancing toward her stomach.

Blushing, she tucked a loose piece of her hair behind her ear. "Oh, you heard about that? I'm purrfectly fine!" She exclaimed that cat pun way too enthusiastically, then hummed in embarrassment before she hitting her palm against her forehead. 

Adrien was relieved to see that she was back to her sweet, silly self. "Cat pun!" He laughed happily, "Are you a Chat Noir fan?" 

"I guess you can say that," she giggled. 

"Did Ladybug's Lucky Charm end up healing your stomach wound?" Adrien blatantly asked, then regretted it as soon as she looked at him. 

"Yes! It's all gone now. How did you know?" Marinette asked, impressed that he knew in the first place. 

"Oh... I... uh heard it from Ladybug," Adrien lied.

"Ladybug?" Marinette's eyes widened. 

"Or was it Chat Noir? I uh... always mix up people who tell me things and yeah?" Adrien's face reddened with internal pain. 

"Me too," She admitted with a small laugh. Responding in short sentences was easier to manage if she wanted to avoid the painful stuttering.

"That's Mari's boyfriend!" Camille told Alya proudly. 

Marinette's shoulders tensed up and she squealed in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Adrien! She's- like four and she's not sure what she's saying!" She told him, touching one of his shoulders. 

Strangely, Adrien felt a bit disappointed. "That's okay, Marinette," he laughed, reassuring her, "You wouldn't believe some of the things I used to blurt out when I was a kid."

She giggled nervously, glancing at Alya helplessly. 

"How about we go play basketball?" Her best friend offered to the younger girl.

"I'm sure I said some weird things too," Marinette replied to Adrien, glad she could pull off flawlessly stutter-free sentences around him. 

"My father's assistant told me I used to tell strangers that I was secretly a vegetarian fry-cook just because I learned the phrase from television," Adrien confided in her, causing her to giggle. 

"You did? I would tell everyone I would marry a Chinese prince and become a princess of China," Marinette admitted as well, laughing. 

"You'd be a good princess," Adrien joked. 

"Thanks! You'd make a great vegetarian fry-cook," The girl added, smiling. 

Adrien's heart swelled up, and he asked, "What if I was the royal vegetarian fry-cook for Princess Marinette?" 

"Then, you'd be paid well," she replied playfully. 'But I'd prefer you as my prince,' Marinette added in her head. 

"I like this idea. Do you know any princes so we can get this going?" The boy asked jokingly. 'Or cat knights?' He thought to himself.

"Maybe I'll go for Prince Ali," Marinette joked, receiving a playful glare from Rose. 

"I think he belongs to Rose," Adrien winked, laughing. Also he didn't see Marinette with Prince Ali. He didn't seem like her type.

"I guess so," she replied, "But what about the prince of guitar-playing? I'd go for Luka."

Adrien felt choked on air, beginning to cough horribly. He keeled over dramatically, gasping to get air in his lungs. 

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Marinette patted his back, a bit experienced from being Ladybug.

"Here's some water, dude!" Kim tossed an ice-cold water bottle toward Adrien, so Marinette could catch it. 

Retrieving it from the girl, he gathered himself. "S-Sorry about that," he wheezed. 

"What happened?" She helped him back to his feet. 

"I... uh, probably accidentally inhaled a bug," Adrien said. 

"Sure," Nino smirked, walking past him, "You good, bud?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Adrien replied. 

"I should get back to Camille so she doesn't cause any trouble. Thanks again for helping me with Chloe," Marinette excused herself. 

"No problem, Marinette," he used the same two-fingered solute and smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Once Juleka texted Luka about the ridiculous rumor that Chloe managed to start about Marinette and him, he decided he'd pay the poor girl a visit. It wasn't hard for him to admit to himself that he did have a crush on the dark-haired teenager with those big blue eyes and silly, fun personality, so it would be interesting to see her again. 

Being that he decided to be homeschooled rather than put in public school like his sister, Luka found himself with a lot of extra time to write songs and hang out around Paris. Juleka told him that Marinette would be at the park once school let out, so he decided he'd just sit on a bench there and play some songs on his guitar for people around the area. He was actually quite excited to see her again, and thought he'd go check in with her. 

Once the time came for her to come out of school, Luka caught her eye as she walked across the field to get to the carousel, holding the hand of the little girl Chloe accused of being his daughter. Marinette waved at him, motioning for him to join their ride. 

Placing down his guitar by the carousel after walking over, he hopped up and went to stand by Marinette. "Oh hey, Marinette! I didn't think I'd see you around here," he smiled gently. 

"Hi Luka! I haven't seen you for a while," she said. "I'm actually here with my little sister, Camille! Here Camille, say hi to Luka!"

She turned around and shyly said, "Hi Luka."

"Hi Camille," he greeted her. 

She looked at Marinette, then back down at her submarine-shaped seat. "Where's Arwen?" She asked quietly. 

"Adrien's probably busy. Do you like him?" Marinette asked Camille, a bit excited to see her take a liking to him. 

"Yeah, but you like him a huge ton," Camille said bluntly. 

"Haha... yeah, he's a nice friend. Luka is a nice friend too!" Marinette told her, causing her to shrug and look down at her feet.

"She's a bit shy," the teenager excused her sister to Luka. "Anyways, how have you been?" 

"I've been good. Gotten lots of guitar practice and I'm in my last year of online high school. What about you?" Luka asked the girl. 

"I've been so so busy with school, friends, and saving Paris...'s favorite cookies for the public because I love to eat them. Kidding! I've been working a lot at the bakery and school is crazy now. I think Chloe almost got me akumatized today," Marinette laughed a little. 

Luka's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh, are you okay? We don't want you to get akumatized! Ladybug would probably have a hard time defeating someone as awesome as you."

"Oh, I'm fine. I just saw the akuma in the corner of my eye, and Adrien was trying to calm me down a little. I ended up calming myself down enough to get ahold of my emotions. A-And you think I'm... awesome?" Marinette pushed a piece of hair behind her ear bashfully. 

"Oh heck yeah. You're one of the four most awesome girls I know," Luka smirked. 

"Oh wow, that's really nice. I guess one of them is your girlfriend, huh?" Marinette asked, then felt her face erupt into redness as she realized how jealous she sounded. Where did that come from? Oh goodness, how embarrassing! 

"What girlfriend?" Luka chuckled, realizing she was a bit jealous. "I was referring to Juleka, my mom, and Ladybug as the other girls. Ladybug is awesome because she saved you."

"R-Really? Wow, I-I uh... think you're l-like so so so awesome too! Earlier I telling was Adrien how you're prince the guitar," Marinette babbled on senselessly, and Luka smiled gently at her. 

He had no clue what that last sentence was, but he assumed it was a compliment. "Thank you, Marinette. Why don't we have a seat? I could let your little sister play with my guitar while we talk," he offered.

Camille glanced up at Marinette, confused by her sudden change in behavior. She thought it was only Adrien for Marinette. This older boy wasn't much like Adrien at all, but yet Marinette had a similar reaction to him. Did she want two husbands?

"Sure! Camille, please be gentle with Luka's guitar. It's very special and must be treated very very nicely. Can you do that?" She bent down to her sister's level. 

"What's a gee-tar?" Camille asked curiously. 

"It's a fun thing that makes beautiful music. Watch me," Luka picked up his guitar and played a simple, light-hearted tune.

The young girl watched intensely, seeing his fingers staying on one side of the guitar, then the others lightly strumming against the thin strings, vibrating them. 

"Now you can try," Luka patted a place next to him on the bench. She shyly sat beside him, and allowed him to place the large instrument on her lap. "Sorry, I know it's a bit big, but maybe one day, if you'd like, you can get a small one," he apologized. 

Pointing at certain places on the guitar, he showed her where to hold her fingers. "Put your pointing finger on this bigger baby string. You see how it's bigger than the smallest little string? That's the one you want to want to hold on to the whole time. Use your longer finger to hold the small baby string." 

She followed his instruction, but held her position awkwardly. Seeing as she was a child, Luka was still happy she was able to understand the placements. "Yeah, like that! Nice job!" He praised. 

"Now the next thing you're going to want to do with your other hand is hold your thumb and pointing finger together like this," he demonstrated with his own fingers, holding it out for her to see.

Following along, she raised out her hand in a similar fashion, looking up at him to see if it was correct. 

"Yes! That's how you're going to hold this little thing," Luka dug into his pocket, pulling out a few guitar picks to let her choose from. "This is called a pick. You use it to play the guitar strings. Which color do you want?"

The child shyly took the purple guitar pick and held it in position. Still holding the notes with the other hand, she took it upon herself to harshly scrape the pick against the strings loudly, causing Marinette to cringe. 

Oh boy, Marinette thought, Luka's guitar might be broken, and then he'd be upset and hate her for letting her little responsibility break his guitar forever and ever!

"That's a good start," Luka laughed, "but we're probably going to have to be a little more gentle with the guitar. Just try a little more lightly."

Using another pick from his pocket, he demonstrated the light strum of a guitar, producing a beautiful, acoustic sound. Placing it back away, he gave her the chance to try strumming. 

In response, she squeezed the pick between two fingers and let it clunk lightly between every string individually, rather than making it sound as a whole. "You're getting better! Now just use that hand to make one swift, light strum down," Luka advised, motioning with his hand to an invisible guitar. 

She followed, lightly letting the pick hit every string on the way down. It was a bit slower, but almost there. "Great job!" Luka held out his hand for a high-five, to which Camille happily returned. 

"Mari, can we buy a gee-tar?" She asked quickly, turning back to look at her sister. 

"Santa will get it for you if you're good," Marinette told her, offering a smile. 

"Oh hey, Marinette and Cam— little girl! You too, Luka, was it?" A familiar boy's voice bled into the conversation, seemingly coming in out of nowhere.

Quickly spinning around, Marinette found her face clumsily smashed against the chest of a boy wearing leather. Jumping back apologetically, she slipped back a little, finding herself in the arms of Luka. 

"W-Wow I'm so sorry!" Marinette's face reddened with complete embarrassment as she apologized to both boys who had to deal with that. 

"It's cool," Luka laughed a bit, helping her find balance as she stood back up. 

"Sorry I startled you a bit there, princess," Chat apologized with a chuckle. His stomach twisted a bit at the sight of Luka still holding onto his close friend. What the heck was that all about? She was standing up now. He could've helped her back up without Luka's help, but it was chivalrous of him to help her anyways.

"Oh, it's you! What brings you here, Chat Noir?" Marinette asked her partner, her hand slowly releasing Luka's.

"I just wanted to check on you. Is everything okay? You gave me a heart attack yesterday, Marinette," Chat held one of her shoulders.

"Ladybug's magic fixed me! Thanks, I'm perfectly fine now. Now go back to your superhero things! Is there another akuma?" Marinette realized, her shoulders jolting with worry. She had to transform! 

Chat Noir's hand slid to her back reassuringly, "No, no! Don't worry, I'm here if there are any. I won't let them hurt you again. I just transformed to keep an eye on the city."

"Don't die, Mari!!" Camille whimpered, running to her sister to hold her leg.

"She won't, Camille. Don't worry. Marinette is strong enough to beat up anything that comes her way, and if she needs help, you and I will be there!" Luka assured her, and she shyly smiled at him. 

As Ladybug, she knew she was very capable of handling herself. Chat Noir had to save her a couple times as Marinette, but she wasn't fond of playing the victim. 

"Thanks guys," she told them, giving a thumbs-up.

"Where's Ladybug?" Camille asked Chat Noir curiously. 

"I'm not quite sure, little lady," he replied, causing Marinette to screech at the reminder. 

She had patrol with Chat Noir! That's why he was out! Hopefully her parents were back from their deliveries and could watch Camille. 

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Luka asked her.

She couldn't ask Luka or...   
Wait, Alya was a possibility. 

"Yeah, I have to get going! Let's go, Camille! I'm sorry, I'll catch up with you guys later!" Marinette grabbed Camille's hand and quickly made her way out of the park.

"Why can't we stay with the cat guy and the guitar guy?" Camille asked, sounding a bit upset. 

"We'll see them again soon! Don't worry, you'll have fun with some new friends. You remember Alya right? She was the girl you met this morning," Marinette reminded her as she pulled out her cell phone with her free hand. Quickly, she dialed her best friend's number.

"Hello?" Alya answered. 

"Hey Al!" Marinette greeted her. 

"Hey girl, what's up?" Alya replied. 

"I'm so sorry for the late notice, but I have something to do today, and my parents are super busy. Is there any way you can watch Camille for the afternoon?" 

"I'm babysitting my sisters tonight, so if Camille wants to join us and have a girls' night, that's fine! Bring her over whenever you're ready," She told her. 

Sighing with relief, the dark-haired teenager said, "Oh my gosh, Alya, you're an angel. Thank you!" 

"No problem, girl! That's what you have an awesome best friend for!" Alya laughed.

"The awesomest! That's not a word, but whatever. Thank you so much Alya! I'm coming over right now," she said before they both hung up. 

Once Marinette and Camille arrived to Alya's, the girl took her in right away. "Camille, there you are! Are you ready for some fun?"

The little girl nodded, looking back at Marinette for confirmation. "She's ready! Thanks again so much, Al!" 

"No problem!" Alya waved off, then turned around to yell, "Ella!! Etta!! Your new friend is here!" 

A few moments later, Alya's younger twin sisters came out of their room to see. "You're a small Marinette!" Ella pointed out. 

"Huh? I'm Camille. That's Mari," Camille pointed to Marinette, explaining.

"Hey Ella and Etta! I have to run, but do you mind playing with Camille until I get back?" Marinette asked, causing her younger sister to anxiously turn in her direction with widened eyes. Alya's sisters nodded excitedly, ready to take on a new friend.

"Mari? You're staying here, right?" Camille tugged on her shirt nervously.

 

"I have to go do something first, then I'll come back and get you. I promise you'll have lots of fun with Alya, Etta, and Ella! We'll have more fun later!" She promised her, pulling her into a small hug. The younger girl wrapped her arms tightly around her older sister, making it obvious that she did not want her to leave.

Marinette looked up helplessly at Alya, who swept the girl up from Marinette, placing her on her back. "Trust me, we'll have tons of fun! Marinette is going off to do boring grownup things."

Once Marinette managed to leave, she made her way to an alley without people, then transformed herself. The teenager was already exhausted from the day's events, but maybe she could arrange a schedule with her partner in which she could leave only when her parents were done with their work.

"Spotted you just in time," Chat Noir joked once she arrived. 

Rolling her eyes a bit at that joke, she said, "Sorry, I was a bit caught up with civilian stuff. How have you been?"

"All good! Actually I might've had a bit of a bump in my day, and I'm not exactly sure why. Something is a little off, but I can't tell what," Chat Noir admitted. 

"Huh, well, I'm sure you'll figure it out! Do you want to talk about your day?" Ladybug asked, seeing as he didn't look as happy as usual.

"I don't know... I mean one of my good friends, she's hanging around and mentioning liking this other guy. I mean, he's really nice and all, but I don't know... It's not that I like her or anything, but I just— I feel a little weird about it."

Ladybug watched his frown deepen in thought, and she wondered if this was a sign that he might actually have a little crush on this friend. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she offered him a smile. "I'm sure your friend will be okay, Kitty. If it really bothers you, you should talk to her about your feelings, or maybe write it in a letter," Ladybug suggested.

"But it's not like— I don't know. I don't have feelings for her like that, but I just don't want anyone to hurt her. I don't see Lu— him as a good fit for her."

Feeling herself warm up at his obvious care for this friend of his, she asked him, "I trust you, and it wasn't a hard decision to make. Did you trust me right away?" 

Laughing a little at the memory of their first meeting, he recalled having trusted her with everything he had from the very first second. It was just something about her that made him immediately know that she was a good person, and that she was trustworthy. 

"Of course, bugaboo."

"Then I trust your judgement. I know that there's nothing you can do about her feelings for him, but you'll be there for her if anything happens. You're a good person, Chat Noir. I know you'll know what to do when the time comes," she told him, watching his green eyes widen at her like a kitten's. It befitted him adorably, causing her to let out a small laugh she couldn't help. 

"Thank you, Ladybug."

Once their patrol ended, the two split ways with more admiration and care for each other. Ladybug loved how most patrols with her partner left her with a smile at the end of the day with things to laugh about, always relieving her of whatever stress she'd usually have. 

She detransformed privately and went off to pick up Camille from Alya. Checking her phone, it seemed to have exploded with messages from her friend, as well as missed calls. 

A: Marinette, there's been a little issue. Can you please call me?

A: OHH CRAP, I SWEAR I HAD NO CLUE THAT THEY WERE DOING THAT! PLZZ CALL ME!

A: IT'S A STYLE. I MEAN, I'M SURE IT WILL GROW OUT TO ROSE'S LENGTH SOON.

A: MARINETTE PICK UP

A: WHERE ARE YOU

A: are you okay??

M: Alya, I'm on my way!


	8. Chapter 8

"It'll be okay, I promise! Your hair looks super cute anyway, Camille!" Alya tried to convince her best friend's little sister, who was currently sobbing under the kitchen table. 

"I want Mari!" She cried into her hands, backing even further away. 

Sighing, Alya glared back at her own little sisters. "What did I tell you about playing hairdressers with scissors?" She asked, obviously irritated. 

"We're sorry, Camille," the twins apologized in sync with each other guiltily. They glanced at each other with sadness, unsure of what else to do. They knew they made a mistake when her shiny dark hair wasn't staying in pigtails any longer. 

"You two need to go to your room and think about what you did! Next time Camille comes over, Nora's watching you both!" Alya told them, pointing them in the direction of their bedroom. 

"Sorry, Alya..." They told her as they walked away. 

The older girl knew her best friend was going to be extremely upset when she saw what happened to her little sister's hair. Alya knew she messed up when she came back from the bathroom to find Camille sitting in a chair in confusion as her little sisters pretended to be hairdressers, chopping her hair to what might be considered a boy's length. 

It wasn't until after Alya panicked and harshly scolded her sisters, making them hand back the scissors (which she did have in a certain drawer, away from them), that Camille ran to a mirror and began to cry about her hair. 

Now the poor child was traumatized and sitting under the table, crying her eyes out about wanting her older sister there. Marinette had finally replied to her after a little while, which Alya found weird considering how frantic a majority of her messages had sounded.

"Marinette will be here soon, Camille. She's on her way to get you right now. While we wait, do you want a cookie?" Alya asked, sitting on the floor beside the table. 

Camille shook her head, burying her face into her knees as she cried violently. 

Almost as if on cue, Alya heard the hurried knocks on her front door. She quickly stood up and rushed to get the door. 

"Alya, what happened?!" Marinette asked worriedly, having read the messages. 

Alya led her by the hand to the kitchen and pointed to beneath the table. "My sisters decided playing hairdressers while I made a trip to the restroom would be a good idea," she grumbled. 

"Oh no, don't tell me..."

Marinette felt her heart sink at the wailing sobs she heard from beneath. "Camille, let me see," she gently coaxed, crouching to see her little sister. 

Shamefully, her sister slowly crawled out from beneath the table to her, still crying. Marinette held back the gasp she wanted to release when she saw that her hair was cut even shorter than Adrien's. Some of her bangs even managed to be cut down to the root. 

Marinette brought her into her arms, carrying her like she would when babysitting Manon a few years back. The younger girl buried her head in her older sister's shoulder, absolutely mortified.

"And all this happened while you were in the restroom?!" Marinette whisper-shouted to Alya, slightly bouncing Camille as if she were an infant. 

"Marinette, I had to take a dump so I told everyone to keep watching the movie, but I got constipated, which meant they probably got bored and decided to pretend they were all in a hair salon. Next thing I know, this poor girl has her hair all pretty much cut off and my sisters were still at it! I did take the scissors away and they're in timeout," Alya explained thoroughly. 

Marinette couldn't help but feel incredibly upset. She knew kids made bad decisions, but her poor sister was miserable. So much of her hair was cut, and it was obvious that her mother would have her take the girl to a salon to have the rest shaven or something to match the length. Although it was just hair, she knew Camille would be incredibly devastated to have to start school like this.

"I have to go figure this out, Alya," Marinette shook her head, holding Camille in her arms tightly as her sobbing slowly turned to quiet cries. 

"I'm so sorry, Marinette. I promise this will never happen again," Alya called after her as she left through the door. 

Once they were out on the street, she felt Camille's trembles slowly relax as she fell asleep against her shoulder. Marinette looked back at her hair, holding her hand over her head to steady her. Her shoulder was wet with tears, and she felt so bad about leaving her there. 

"Tikki, this was all my fault for not being a good big sister... I should've been the one watching her, and now I'm going to have to explain to her parents why their littlest daughter has such short hair," Marinette told her kwami guiltily. 

"You have so many responsibilities, Marinette! You did your best to manage them, but sometimes it's just too much for one teenage girl," Tikki reminded her, flying out of her purse. 

"I know, but I feel so bad. She's so upset, Tikki," she whispered. She appreciated her kwami's efforts at trying to cheer her up, but she knew this was on her. 

When she arrived back to the bakery, she braced herself to face her parents. It wasn't a surprise to Marinette when her mother's eyes widened in horror and her father sighed. 

"Please don't wake her," Marinette begged in a whisper, knowing how upset she'd be to awaken to her hair again. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, what in the world did you do?" Sabine asked her, turning red with obvious irritation, as well as containment of her wanting to yell. 

"Let me put her down to bed, and I'll tell you guys everything," she promised, her arms hurting a little from having carried her for so long. 

Dismissed for the moment, Marinette gently took her upstairs to her room, placing her in bed carefully. 

Once she came back down, she knew she had to come clean somehow. 

"What did you do to her hair?!" Sabine finally asked as Tom crossed his arms, standing beside her firmly. 

"So... I actually wanted Camille to make friends, so I took her to Alya's so she could meet the twins. While we were busy for a small moment, they decided to play hairdressers, and the twins accidentally chopped a majority of her hair off, and Camille cried herself to sleep," Marinette explained, leaving out the part about not being there herself. 

"Marinette, why weren't you watching them?" Tom asked, sounding disappointed. 

"I— had to use the restroom, but Alya hurt herself by... stubbing her toe, and I had to help her with a bleeding toenail, so instead of watching the movie like we asked them to, they did... that," Marinette struggled, and her mother narrowed her eyes at her. It wasn't hard to see that she was lying, and it severely disappointed her to see that she couldn't just tell her the whole truth. 

"Alright... We still have to get her hair fixed, Marinette. We can't send her to school like that," Sabine told her, sighing. 

"You mean... her whole head is just going to be shaved?" Marinette asked, feeling her stomach twist.

"It depends on how short the rest is," Sabine explained. Of course she didn't want to torture the younger girl, but she didn't want to make it look worse with multiple lengths. 

"Some of it goes down to the root," Marinette told her sadly. 

"Okay, we'll take her to the salon tomorrow morning," Her mother decided. 

"What about the bakery?" Marinette asked. 

"Tom can watch it, and the deliveries will be a little delayed," Sabine said. 

"Are you sure? I can help out," Marinette offered apologetically. This was her doing, so now she knew she had to fix the damage.

"What about class? I don't want you to have any trouble catching up," Sabine told her. 

"It's okay, Mama. I can take her to class again, then take her to the salon during lunch," Marinette suggested, "You can take care of the deliveries!"

Sabine, although still upset with her older daughter, felt touched by her offers. She knew it was a lot of responsibility to lay on a teenager, and it guilted her to do it. 

Marinette was surprised when her mother pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, dear. You've been so helpful, and I know it's been crazy, but we'll get everything situated soon," Sabine told her, hugging her. 

* * *

The next morning, Marinette awoke by Tikki once again. "Come on, we need to get Camille dressed to come to class again with you," she reminded her helpfully. 

Marinette dreadfully sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. So it wasn't just a nightmare?

Climbing down the ladder, she went over to her little sister's bed to gently shake her awake. "Good morning, sleepyhead," Marinette told her. 

The girl slowly sat up, disoriented by her sleepiness. She pulled the blanket back over herself, too cold to get up. 

"Come on, Camille! You get to come with me to school again," she told her, "We have to get ready!"

The young girl went to touch her hair, but felt the shortness of it all. Suddenly, she was reminded of it again, and she sunk down in the bed, yanking the blanket over her head quickly. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Marinette asked, lifting the blanket up a little to reveal her face. 

"I don't want to look like a boy," Camille whimpered, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. 

"No, no. You don't look like a boy," Marinette quickly reassured her, "You're a pretty princess!" 

"Ella and Etta said I looked like a prince now, and princes are boys..." Camille sat up a little, looking at Marinette worriedly. 

"Of course not! You have a princess face. Hair doesn't matter," Marinette told her, "It grows back, and before you know it, you won't even care whether it's long or short."

Eventually, she coaxed her out from under the blanket and helped her get ready, in which Camille wore one of Marinette's pink hoodies to throw over her jeans, as well as use the hood. The two left the house quickly after eating, and made it to Marinette's school. 

Camille never left her sister's side, closely holding her hand as they walked to class. She held the oversized hood over her head, not wanting to show everyone what happened. When it fell back though, a certain blonde happened to notice.

"Wow, I guess you do have a little bro—," Chloe scoffed at Marinette, but the girl quickly cut her off with a hand to her mouth and a threatening look. 

"Don't you even dare," she warned her. Disgusted, Chloe yanked her hand off and grumbled at how annoying and unsanitary Marinette was with her to Sabrina while they all took their seats.

As she sat down beside Alya, Camille sunk into the seat on the edge, glancing at Marinette. The girl pulled out a paper and some crayons, already prepared to keep the child busy. "Here, you can do your work too!" Marinette placed it in front of her, hoping to distract her. 

"Hey Marinette. I just wanted to apologize to you and Camille again for yesterday. I'll pay for whatever the costs are to get her to a salon to fix the damage," Alya apologized shamefully, looking at the child wearing her best friend's hood to cover her hair. 

"Don't worry about it, Alya. I've got it covered," Marinette turned down the offer to pay, already having been given the money from her parents to fix it. 

"No, I feel terrible. I should've been watching them the whole time, even if it meant taking them with me to the bathroom. Or I should've asked Nino to come with me to watch them. You're not paying for it," Alya decided, crossing her arms. 

"Alya, you don't have—" 

"Nope, I'm doing it. When were you planning to take her to the salon?" Alya asked her. 

Glancing back at Camille to make sure she wasn't listening, she leaned in to whisper to Alya, "I have to take her during lunch. My mom told me we have to have everything buzzed to one length, so it'll all be shaved down to her root."

Alya's mouth hung open as she let out a small gasp, "Aww, poor thing. I can't imagine how miserable she must feel about it," she whispered back, pouting at the idea. 

"I'm not actually sure she knows yet," Marinette confessed.

"If it were up to me, I'd shave my sisters' hair off as punishment. Unfortunately, my parents would kill me, so that's not an option," Alya grumbled.

"Alya!" Marinette gasped at her morbid nature. 

Mrs. Mendeleev took note of the hooded child alongside Marinette, not saying anything about her presence being a distraction to class. Instead, she began the class with an activity to begin working on.

"Sorry I'm late!" Adrien bursted into class running. 

"Mr. Agreste, why are you disrupting this class with your tardiness?! Get to your seat and find a partner!" She demanded. 

Adrien looked to Nino, who had already partnered off with Max since he hadn't seen Adrien previously. 

Alya saw this, and took advantage of the situation. This might be a good way to make it up to her best friend after her sisters messed with her little sister. Deciding to be a part of Juleka and Rose's group as a third person, she quickly warned Marinette before leaving.

"Alya, what the heck?!" Marinette whisper-shouted to her best friend who winked as she left. 

Helplessly looking around the room, Adrien's gaze fell on Marinette first, causing his heart to speed a little. It seemed that she didn't have a partner either, so he could talk to her! Was her hair actually loose today? 

Approaching her, he saw Camille glance at him first then pull on Marinette's sleeve to get her attention. The older girl looked at Camille who whispered into her ear while side glancing at Adrien. Her smile wavered nervously as she waved at him. 

"Hey Marinette, would you mind being my partner for today?" Adrien asked her, watching her blue eyes light up. 

"Of course! I mean not of course I would mind because obviously I don't mind you! You are totally not a mindful thing, I mean you're mindful as a person, but I don't pay any mind to you! Wait, I do pay mind to you, but I don't mind you, but I care about you— as a friend, yeah!" Marinette cut herself off before she continued rambling on. 

Camille widened her eyes, slowly looking away from the embarrassing scene and back to her coloring. 

"Cool!" Adrien said after a moment, laughing a bit as he sat directly beside Marinette. She felt her face flush with redness as he was within her five foot radius. "I care about you too, Marinette," he told her with a gentle smile, scooting a little closer. 

The girl mentally added "as a friend" to the end of his sentence in his voice, as he'd always said it so many times. To even be his friend was quite a step in her opinion. Her fourteen year old self thought that friends could never become lovers, but she'd seen it through Alya and Nino's love.

Maybe they had a chance together after all? But what would she do about Luka? Her compass was not as functional as she wanted it to be in the midst of the two most awesome boys she knew, other than her partner of course.


	9. Chapter 9

That trip to the salon was one of the most emotionally heartbreaking moments that Marinette ever had to witness. She did absolutely everything in her power to distract Camille while the remainder of her hair was being shaved down to the scalp, but in the end, the child ended up completely bald, to where she didn't have a single hair left on her head.

When she had caught a glimpse in the mirror, Camille broke into tears of complete devastation and misery, running straight to Marinette to bury her hairless head into her to hide. 

"It was supposed to be evened out, not shaved completely," Marinette couldn't help but argue to the hairdresser with irritation. She was absolutely positive that the shortest hair was at least two centimeters long, yet "evening out" apparently meant that the hairdresser was shaving her little sister bald.

"It'll grow out," the man said, "Besides, it was so sparse that now it'll grow out full."

Marinette knew her sister's hair was being shaved, but she assumed it would be a short buzz, not complete baldness. It hurt her heart to see her so miserable and ashamed of her appearance at such a young age. Before the twins had cut her hair, Camille had such thick, but straight and shiny shoulder-length hair.

Although she wanted to argue with him, she didn't want it to seem like a bigger deal than it already was to Camille. Biting her tongue, the teenager paid for the service begrudgingly.

"You look so pretty, Camille!" Marinette exclaimed, kneeling down to get to her level. She tried to make her feel better, "Look at how adorable your head is! Now we can see your princess face!" 

The girl didn't move from her position, still absolutely traumatized from having seen herself look so different. Marinette didn't want her to be so upset, or get manipulated by Hawkmoth by being in such a vulnerable state. 

"It's okay, Camille," she hugged her, understanding she wasn't exactly going to get over losing what was left of her hair. "We can get you some ribbons to tie around your head too! Would that make you feel better?" 

The girl nodded a little, and hid behind Marinette as she walked outside. She squeezed her eyes shut, tightly hanging onto the older girl. 

"C-Can I call Grandma?" Camille whimpered, her voice muffled from shoving her face in Marinette's shoulder after her sister lifted her into her arms after they got to the sidewalk.

Marinette froze, unsure of how to tell Camille. How in the world was she supposed to tell a child that the only motherly figure she had for the huge majority of her life had died, and that was the reason she was sent to Paris? What the heck was she supposed to say when she was already so sad and upset? 

"Grandma can't call us," Marinette told her gently, wiping away some of her tears. "After we get your ribbons, I'll drop you off at home with Mama and Papa."

"No, I want to go to school!" Camille protested tearfully. 

"You'll go to school tomorrow," Marinette promised. 

"Why can't I go with you now?" She asked. 

"Mama and Papa registered you for school, but you've already missed your first part of the day! Wouldn't you like to go tomorrow?" Marinette explained, a bit surprised at her eagerness. 

"No I didn't miss it! I did my work too! I gave it to Mrs. Menleaf!" Camille argued, trying to remind Marinette. 

"Camille, Mrs. Mendeleiev is my teacher. You'll get your own teacher to give work to tomorrow," Marinette tried to explain. 

"I want Mrs. Menleaf!" She insisted, obviously growing a little bit of a temper. 

The older girl sighed, remembering how Manon had her own little temper at times. The best thing, she remembered, was not to give in. She had to put her foot down... Or at least change the subject to distract her. 

"Oh, look! There's a hat store! What if we got you a nice purple hat?" Marinette pointed out across the street. 

"I want to put my hair back!" Camille decided. 

Calmly, Marinette explained as she put her back down, "Your hair will come back, but it might take some time to grow back."

"Tomorrow?"

"You might get a small stubble— but unless you have Papa's genes, you probably won't see that bit until next week."

"Today!" 

"Hair takes some time to grow, so it won't be right away that you'll have the long hair you used to have," Marinette told her. 

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it, okay? You're awesome just the way you are," Marinette attempted to cheer her up, but she saw her sister's face crumple in irritation.

"Mari, make it come back! I don't wanna look like a boy!!" Camille yelled loudly, slumping to the floor to lay there as she pouted tearfully. 

"Hey, look at me," Marinette gently pulled her up to her feet, "There are many children without hair, and many of them are girls. They don't choose this a lot of the time, but no matter what, they keep their head up and continue smiling. Smiles are what make you beautiful, because real beauty comes from positivity and kindness."

"Kindness?" Camille repeated, "Is that why Ladybug is beautiful?" 

 

Marinette felt herself smile, laughing a little. "Sure. If you're a kind girl, which I know you already are, you're one of the most beautiful people! You don't need hair for that," she explained, watching her sister's face light up a little more. 

"Okay," She said, hugging Marinette appreciatively. 

"So would you like to get a hat?" 

"Okay!"

After the two ran down to the hat store and chose a few cute pink, purple, and blue hats for Camille's new look, Marinette went inside the bakery to drop her off to her parents. 

"Mari, I'm hungry," Camille told her once they stepped through the door, now wearing a purple hat.

"I'm sure Mama and Papa can cook you up something real quickly," the girl assured her, glancing at the time as she knew it was nearing the end of her lunch time, "I've got to get back to class, but don't worry, they should be able to feed you."

"No, I want to come!" Camille whined, clinging to her older sister's leg. 

"Oh hello dears," Sabine greeted them both, but her smallest daughter shyly hid behind Marinette. 

She didn't want to go with someone she didn't know as well. As far as she could tell, Marinette was the closest she had to a mother. Besides, she was fun and nice.

"Hi Mama," Marinette hugged her mother as she came over. 

"How was the haircut?" Sabine asked Camille, bending down to her level, but the younger girl still clung onto Marinette. 

Marinette glanced down at her sister to see her reaction, which had been a simple shrug. "We bought her some very pretty hats," the teenager handed her mother the paper shopping bag. 

"I actually have to get back to school soon, and Camille is hungry. Would you be able to feed her?" Marinette asked. 

"The bakery has slowed down, so I'll just have Tom manage the front while I make her some food," Sabine told her, "You can go back to class, dear."

She smiled thankfully, then turned around to hug Camille goodbye. "I'll see you later, Camille. Mama will make you food, okay?" 

"No, I'm coming!" She held her side tightly.

"It'll be too boring for you with all the lame grownup stuff. You'll have much more fun at home," Marinette tried to convince her. 

"She's right! You can even have anything you want for dessert," Sabine attempted bribery. 

As tempting as desserts were, Camille did not want Marinette to leave. Although... purple macarons sounded great at the time. 

"Come on, don't you want to have fun here? It's much better than boring old class! You can eat whatever you want, you don't have to stay quiet, and you can even watch TV!" Marinette persuaded. 

Hesitantly, the young girl followed Sabine as she slowly released her older sister's arm from her grip. Anxiously, she looked back at Marinette to make sure she hadn't left yet. 

* * * 

"So why couldn't your parents take care of her before? I don't mean to offend them or anything, or call them bad parents, but why couldn't they just raise Camille along with you?" Alya asked her friend who was working on her math assignment. 

"I have no idea. They haven't explained it to me yet, but I really think it would've been more nice for her to have parents in the picture while she was being practically traumatized," Marinette grumbled irritatedly. 

"You mean they weren't with her when she had to get all her hair shaved off?" Alya asked in shock. 

"She was shaking and crying the whole way to the salon when I told her what we had to do, and had to literally hold my hand when the barber shaved her head. Camille really needed a parent there. The poor girl doesn't even know the person who raised her all her life is dead and there's no way I'm going to break that news to her!" Marinette ranted, to which Alya put a hand on her shoulder. 

"Girl, your parents are the ones who need to tell her. No offense to them, but they need to step it up a little and be there for her. You're just a teenager, and not to mention, it's your last year in high school. You might be going off to an American university for design next year, and they can't just expect you to take her. You're not a mother, Marinette."

"I don't even know if I can even leave at this point. If they can't watch Camille, there's no way I'm leaving her to be neglected. She needs attention, care, and support," she replied, growing rather upset at the fact that she'd be losing everything. 

If she had been in her place as a little girl, she'd want an older sister to stay with her. Maybe she had to mature and just take on the responsibility. Besides, she could continue being Ladybug if she stayed. 

"What?! Girl, you need to talk your parents," Alya exclaimed, watching Marinette's shoulders slump over her desk with her face hitting the surface. 

"Is everything okay, Marinette?" Adrien asked as he walked towards his desk. He dropped his backpack there, then walked to stand beside to his classmate's desk to check on her. 

"Huh?! Oh— yeah! I'm just— uh— tired. Yeah? Uh, so tired. When do you want to work on our project next? I mean, I'm not tired enough to go to sleep but just... haha," Marinette snapped up, feeling her brain malfunction and melt as if it was a computer sitting on a fryer. 

"You should rest. We can work together whenever you'd like. I'll just ask Nathalie to cancel any lessons I have during the time," Adrien replied, smiling a little at her big awkward smile.

"Just let me know when your schedule is clear! We can work together whenever," Marinette told him, pre-planning her message before having said it carefully.

"Oh, I mean if you want to work today after school, I would be available all afternoon," Adrien lied, but felt a little excited when he saw her nod after thinking for a few moments. 

"Me too! Do you want to work at my home or yours?" Marinette asked.

Without thinking, Adrien sputtered out, "Yours please!" 

He didn't want to have his father knowing he was ditching his lessons, or questioning Marinette, giving her that cold empty feeling that always lingered around when he was either present or absent.

"Sure! As long as you don't mind some nosy parents checking in now and then," Marinette told him, laughing a little. 

A warmth filled Adrien's chest, and he nodded. Of course he'd wouldn't mind. If anything, he'd never mind having loving parents always checking to see how he's doing. Marinette has always been so capable of making sure everyone felt included and cared for.

"See you later then, Adrien," she told him, ensuring she kept her stutter and crazy-talk under control.

"See you, Marinette," Adrien replied, resisting the odd urge he had to hug her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I've been writing about Marinette and Camille having been eating macaroons even though I never had one! 
> 
> Well, an overpriced French bakery just came to my mall, so I had the chance to try one. I picked a light pink one for the cute IG pics, took the pictures, then actually got to try it. 
> 
> EW. I picked some weird sugary melted bubblegum mint bread flavored one, and probably should've stuck with a flavor I already knew! 😂 I'm sure other macaroons flavors are nice, but the one I tried was pretty nasty.
> 
> Let me know what flavor macaroons you recommend!


	10. Chapter 10

When Marinette came home with Adrien, she was surprised to be hug-attacked by her little sister. 

"Hi Mari!!" Camille greeted her, excited that she finally got home. Still hugging her, she looked over to Adrien shyly, "Hi Arwen."

Adrien was a little surprised at how she was suddenly bald, but obviously didn't mention it. "Hello Camille," he politely greeted her.

"Adrien and I are going to work on our homework, so how about watching some TV?" Marinette suggested, lifting her up. 

"Can I work on homework with you?" She requested, not wanting to be alone in the living area by herself again. Camille would've joined her parents in the bakery, but she felt too anxious to be around so many strangers, especially with her new look. 

"You might be bored! Cartoons are always fun, right?" Marinette asked, placing her down on the couch. 

"I watched cartoons already! I want to go to the park again with you and your husbands!" Camille whined loudly, causing the older girl to flush with embarrassment. 

"I'm not married, Camille," she reminded her, although her face was completely red at this point. 

"Oh yeah! You said Arwen was the boyfriend you wanted!" Camille recalled, causing Marinette to let her forehead fall to her hands. 

Sometimes Marinette wondered if this girl had a mute option. 

"Oh?" Adrien replied jokingly, but placed his arm around Marinette comfortingly. Her shoulders jolted up at the sudden contact, but she didn't have the courage (or self-dignity) to look him in the face. 

"I'm so sorry, Adrien! I swear, I think she was a little confused. I mean you're so nice, and I like you— as a friend! She must've heard me talking about Luka," Marinette rambled on, lying a bit. 

She did mention liking Luka, but most of the time, Camille had heard her conversations with Alya, rambling on about how much she loved Adrien. She cringed at the thought of lying to him, but it was way too forward and creepy to tell him that she wanted him to be her boyfriend. Obviously, she hated the idea of making him uncomfortable, so lying a little in this situation made sense to her.

She could've sworn that his face fell at the comment, and she considered wanting to take back her comment. "I mean— Luka is an awesome friend too! I mean, I don't have a husband! I didn't say I wanted Luka as a husband, or uhh... yeah," Marinette let her mouth run more than she preferred. 

She saw him smile at her a little, then he glanced back at Camille, who was currently confused as to what the heck Marinette was trying to get across. 

"You said you like both Arwen— Adwin and Luka as boyfriends!" Camille remembered. 

"So she ships us?" Adrien asked jokingly, watching Marinette sink into the couch, covering her face in shame. 

"Mari doesn't have a pirate ship for you or Luka, Adwin," Camille explained, confused by his wording.

Sitting up quickly, Marinette whispered to Adrien, "I'm so sorry. She's got no clue what she's talking about. She's been watching too many cartoons today."

"Don't worry about it, Marinette," Adrien laughed, holding her shoulder. She smiled at him thankfully, yet shyly. His hand over her shoulder made her heart pump a little more passionately than usual, and it worried her that he might even be able to hear it.

"I'm going to tidy my room for a moment. Do you mind watching Camille here for a few minutes?" Marinette asked, pushing a hair strand behind her ear. Although she was aware of her earrings possibly being a clue of her alter ego, Marinette trusted Adrien was clueless enough not to notice it. If her crush wasn't obvious to him, what could be? Besides, the earrings were black in her civilian form for a majority of the time.

"Of course, go on ahead. You don't have to organize your room if you don't want to. I really don't mind," Adrien politely offered, to which Marinette blushed a little, holding her arm. 

Was leaving them together even a good idea? What in the world was she asking? Camille loved to say the most embarrassing things at the wrong times, and now she was leaving her motor mouth with her crush.

Obviously, there were certain wall decorations she preferred he wouldn't see. 

"It's okay, I'll just clean my room for a few minutes. Thank you," she said, turning around to use the stairs in the kitchen. 

"Mari, I wanna come!" Camille told her, running to catch up to her. 

Letting her come would've made more sense in this situation, Marinette thought, but it would be more rude to exclude him instead of having someone for him to chat with for a short while. Her parents always taught her that you should never leave a guest alone in your house while you were talking with someone else, as it wouldn't be very well-mannered.

"Hey, why don't you tell Adrien about something cool? Maybe your favorite color or food?" Marinette offered a solution, causing Camille to turn around and go back to sitting on the couch. 

Once Marinette left, Camille sat shyly, unsure of what to say now. She awkwardly felt the top of her bald head, slowly sinking into the couch, embarrassed.

"So... did Marinette really tell you that she likes Luka?" Adrien asked quietly, curious to know what she'd think. Obviously, since most kids were truthful, he put a little bit of trust in her answer.

"She gets all weird around him and turns red. Then again, she does that with you and sometimes stares at the posters she has of you in her room. Also she sometimes checks the calendar she has in her room to see where you're at for the day. She doesn't have Luka's schedule for some reason," Camille answered, completely oblivious to the idea that this might be considered an extremely embarrassing thing to say. 

"Calender? Huh, maybe Nathalie put it up on the internet for my fans. That's probably why Marinette doesn't have one of Luka! Besides, he probably lounges around his houseboat all day, playing his guitar and throwing his random blue hair back, so I don't think he would have a busy schedule," Adrien didn't realize how sassy he came off until he noticed Camille's giggle. 

"Why are you red like Marinette? Do you want to make her your husband too?" She asked, beginning to break out of her shell around Adrien. 

Turning red for a different reason, he realized that he was probably red with irritation about Marinette having a crush on Luka. But she had his schedule, so maybe he won this battle. 

But... what about Ladybug? He loved her, but he also— Marinette? What? She was just... a friend, right? Why did his heart speed up every time he was near her or whenever someone even mentioned her name? Why did he feel his face heat up whenever she looked towards him with that sweetness she always seemed to have? He wasn't even sure, but he didn't think Luka was a good fit for Marinette. Although he was kind, caring, cool, and sensitive, there was no way he saw Luka fitting for Marinette.

But what the heck was he supposed to do about Ladybug?! 

"She's... my princess, but please don't tell her I said that, Camille! How about this stays our special secret?" Adrien asked, holding out his pinkie. 

"Is she your husband princess?" Camille asked. 

"I'd be the husband, actually. She'd be the wife," Adrien explained. 

"So you're the husband princess and she's the wife princess?" Camille confirmed, "Fine, pinkie promise!" 

Adrien laughed a little, but thought it was close enough. They locked pinkies to confirm their promise. 

After hearing a crash from upstairs, Adrien ran up the ladder, and pushed the door open instinctively. He saw Marinette off the side of the bed with an arm full of random papers she suddenly hid when she noticed him. Above her was a random roll-up paper she quickly yanked to pull back up. Behind him was Camille. 

"Are you alright?" He asked, running over to help her to her feet. 

"Yeah, I just slipped trying to put away something," Marinette laughed nervously, shoving all the poster papers into a drawer behind her. "Anyway, the room is clean!" 

"You didn't have to, but it's definitely a nice room! You did great cleaning it!" He complimented her.

"You should show Adwin the schedule!" Camille suggested, reaching to find the cord to pull down. 

"There's no schedule, Camille! Oh, the schedule for school is on the website, I'll show him that one!" She held the cord higher up so she couldn't reach it. 

"Oh, is that a school schedule?" Adrien asked, jokingly knowing it was probably the one Camille was referring to previously.

"No! That's— uh... a macaroni board!" She lied, then realized how dumb that sounded. Really? A macaroni board? What the heck was a macaroni board and why would she keep it there? She wanted to kick herself. 

Once they began their project together, Camille aimlessly wandered around Marinette's room, playing with whatever she found. 

After a few hours, Adrien continued to ignore the buzzing of his phone, which he figured was probably his father practically having an aneurysm over his whereabouts. He didn't want to leave to go back home, but he knew it was inevitable. 

He would be grounded, punished, and probably forced to make up everything he missed that day. He wanted to postpone it. Maybe he'd stay out as Chat Noir all night and find a nice place on the Eiffel Tower to sleep. 

"Well, I'm hungry. Do you want to pick something up for dinner with me? We could find a nearby place to grab some food and get back to finishing up the project," Adrien offered, shutting his phone off and dropping it into his backpack.

"That sounds awesome! Camille, what— Oh, she's asleep. I'll tell my parents on the way out. Let's go," she smiled. 

He glanced back to see that Camille really was asleep, and turned back to Marinette. He followed her out, quietly closing the door above as he stepped down the ladder. 

The two made their way outside quite uneventfully, having received permission from Marinette's parents to go out for a bit. Adrien followed her out onto the street, then they both stopped. 

"Hmm... Where would you like to go?" Adrien asked his friend, causing her to blush slightly as she tried to think of a place. 

She didn't want to pick a bad place! What if she offered something and he hated it? "Uh... What kind of food do you like?" Marinette asked. 

Adrien chuckled a bit as he replied, "Anything that isn't the dry salad my father orders for me everyday."

"Oh, so maybe... pizza?" Marinette suggested, knowing that was always a popular option. 

"If you're a fan of pizza, then of course!" Adrien told her, quite excited about their little outing. Something kept bothering him though.

He wasn't going to deal with his father's obsessive overprotection tonight, although he was extremely anxious to think about what kind of punishments he'd receive after this stunt. He didn't even want to go home afterwards, and knew that his attendance would obviously be reported at school the next day. In fact, he was slightly worried that his father already filed a missing person report for him and that the police would be out to look for him. 

"I do love pizza! Let's go to the one by Mas— on that other street by the Louvre. It's actually pretty good," Marinette decided. 

Taking the bus, they paid their fare and hopped on. They sat side-by-side, with Marinette at the window seat. He didn't want to take any chances that Gorilla would see him. 

Marinette turned to look at Adrien, and noticed he had a lost, yet somewhat gloomy look on his face. "Hey Adrien, are you okay?" She asked, slightly allowing her arm to touch his as she leaned. Her awkward blushing and broken sentences were forgotten at the sight of his crestfallen posture.

He shook his head, and laughed a bit nervously. Blushing at their contact, he smiled at her gently. "I'm fine," he told her, using that fake model smile. 

She let her gaze fall downwards, but then looked back up at him with a supportive smile, "We're friends, right? Y-You can always talk to me."

"Of course, Marinette. I do trust you! I'm just... I guess— I'm a little... I don't know. My father... I just know he'd... never let me," Adrien struggled to explain, not wanting her to worry too much. 

Her smile fell a bit, and she felt herself hold his arm gently, almost affectionately. "He wouldn't let you... go do things like this?" She asked, worried at how he frowned, growing to look anxious at the idea of his own father. 

"Y-yeah..." He replied, looking away from Marinette's worried eyes. 

Feeling his own lip tremble, he bit down on it and shut his eyes quickly before he did something embarrassing. As her hand begin to loosen around his arm, he felt himself grab it instinctively, but then let it go with shame. 

Marinette re-tightened her grip, wishing she could just hug him before he started crying. "Did you tell him?" She asked tenderly.

Adrien opened his watery eyes, gazing back over at her. He shook his head negatively, not wanting to speak if it led to that lump in his throat starting him up. Why didn't this feeling just stay deep inside of him rather than just spilling all over Marinette? Why didn't it just come back out when he was all alone? Why did it have to happen in the worst possible timing?

Marinette felt herself grow frustrated with Gabriel Agreste. He may have been her fashion idol, but he's emotionally tearing apart his own son. As a seventeen year old boy, he should be able to at least go to a friend's house for school projects. It shouldn't be so hard for him to be able to spend time with friends without being put on lockdown and forced to video chat. It wasn't fair for him, and there was nothing she could do about it. 

"Hey, it's okay. Adrien, I'll help you. I'll tell him I needed your help and you were kind enough to tutor me— or that we have a really important project, which we do, but don't worry," Marinette promised him, using her other hand to hold his shoulder. 

Adrien shuddered, and Marinette watched his lip tremble harder as he quickly wiped a tear away with embarrassment, but more kept coming. "W-What if he t-takes me out of public school? H-He's going to punish me when I get back, M-Marinette," he began to cry, helplessly scrubbing at his eyes.

"No, no, you'll be fine, Adrien! I promise! We'll figure it out," Marinette reassured him, hating to see him so upset, "You're not alone. I'll be with you, and I'll help you figure it out!" 

Adrien offered a watery smile as he attempted to thank her, but his barrier was broken and the river wasn't slowing. He was trying to get it together, but it was making it worse. 

Marinette decided she wasn't going to give a care, and finally gave into her emotional instinct. She pulled away from holding his arm, and instead held him in a tightly comforting hug. To her surprise, he held his arms around her as well, hugging her back tightly as he placed his chin on her shoulder, breathing more evenly. She held him until he was able to stop crying, but allowed him to cry as much as he needed to. He hated being so weak about something so trivial, but having Marinette there with him while he was terrified made everything so much more bearable.

"Th-thank you," he finally told her, laughing a bit shyly as they slowly broke apart. 

"It was no problem! I mean, it wasn't that you didn't have any problems and you're— I mean just— uh- yeah, just know it's okay to be open with me. I care about you a lot," Marinette said, beginning to blush at her own words toward him. Now the impact of what was actually happening was hitting her like a sack of bricks, but she didn't want to lose her confidence. He was opening up to this side of her, and she didn't want to make him close off.

"Thanks, you're the best, Marinette. I care about you too, so— it goes both ways. Just— thank you," he repeated himself a little, also turning red. 

After realizing they went way past their stop, the two got off the bus laughing at themselves. 

"Well, at least there's a pizza place right here," Marinette pointed out, giggling. 

"I think we might've slightly left Paris," Adrien chuckled, "But we're definitely eating now! We just have to catch the next bus back."

Marinette shrugged, smiling. She couldn't help but notice how her heart jumped at the way his emotions turned around, and how he was no longer sad. He seemed more relaxed as they entered the pizza place.

Pulling out her wallet, Marinette began to pull out some cash, but Adrien gently pushed it back towards her. Instead, he quickly handed his card to the cashier, to which Marinette made a gasp of protest. "Adrien, I—" 

"I'm not letting you pay, Marinette," Adrien told her, winking in a similar manner to her partner. 

"I have money though! I— You— ugh! You remind me a lot of a certain... cat," Marinette grumbled jokingly, holding back her laugh. 

"Cat? What cat? Cat Noir?" Adrien stiffened a bit, then let out a forced laugh. 

Marinette finally let her laughter free again, "No, I was referring to the cat superhero in Texas."

"I didn't know you were this sarcastic, Princess— Vegetarian Fry Cook Marinette," Adrien saved himself, using a referral from their previous conversation. She giggled at the name, beginning to blush at the fact he remembered their conversation. 

"Speaking of that cat, he's been popping in on me pretty often," Marinette remarked, laughing a little as she pushed the front strands of hair behind her ear. 

Adrien reddened as well, his eyes growing wide, "Oh. Has he now?" 

"I wonder if he does that with all civilians," Marinette rolled her eyes, remembering how protective he's always been. 

Adrien shrugged, acting as if he were clueless of it. "He's never popped in on me, so I'm not sure." 

The couple found a table, and continued their conversation on random topics. Soon their pizza was brought, and they began to eat hungrily. 

"Now I remember why I love pizza so much," Marinette mumbled, melting at the taste. 

"I wish I could add this kind of food to my diet," Adrien added on, speaking once he swallowed his food. 

When they finished up their meal, they walked out of the restaurant rather sleepily. The air was chillier than Marinette remembered, and she hugged herself. 

Adrien looked at her, realizing she was cold. He wished he had worn a jacket that day, so he could lend it to her to keep her warm. 

"Let's find the bus quickly so you don't freeze," Adrien told her, gently picking up her arm to hold. 

Suddenly, the warmth from the heat rushing up her entire body from his touch was enough to block out the cold air. As much joy sparked in her heart from the touch, she felt herself growing too sleepy to make any sudden reactions. 

Apparently, she learned rather late, eating too much makes you feel tired. When they got on the bus, the two sat beside each other again. Adrien's weight shifted towards her, and when she looked up at him, she realized his head was leaning back as his eyes were closed. 

She resisted the impulse to fall asleep as well, not wanting to miss their stop again. Marinette didn't want to wake him, knowing how tired he probably was.

When the bus stopped at the corner by her bakery, she gently tapped his shoulder. "Adrien, we're here," she said quietly, yet at a volume where he was able to hear it. 

"Lady— Ladybug?" Adrien mumbled, not completely awake. 

She tensed up, but realized he was sleeping. "Adrien, it's Marinette," she reminded him softly, but then his head fell on her shoulder without his realization. She let out a small squeal of surprise in return. 

"Anyone getting off?" The bus driver asked, beginning to close his doors. 

"Adrien," she gently shook him, to which he mumbled incoherently in reply. 

"Let's go. The bus stopped," she told him, but he unconsciously hugged her arm and buried his face in her shoulder. 

She felt herself smile as warmth filled her cheeks. Marinette knew he'd probably wake up really apologetically if he saw himself now. Maybe she'd wake him up at the next bus stop then... 

* * * 

"Oh my goodness, Marinette, I am so so sorry! I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable!" Adrien apologized as they had a few blocks to walk from the next bus stop. His face was incredibly red, but it wasn't as noticeable in the dark. 

"It's okay! You were tired!" Marinette insisted, giggling. Of course she had expected this reaction from him when he finally awoke, but it was much cuter seeing it in person. She wanted to melt into a puddle at how much he cared about her comfort. 

"Yeah, but I could've dislocated your shoulder with my heavy head!" Adrien covered his face with his hands as he groaned. 

"Don't worry about it!" She reassured him, resting her hand over his arm. Marinette was honestly surprised at how the evening made her so much more comfortable around him, that now she could make physical contact with her crush without turning into a blushing, stuttering mess of a girl. 

Marinette realized how late it actually was, and knew it wouldn't be too great of an idea to continue working at such a late time. Besides, she remembered Tikki mentioning that her powers might be affected if she transformed without a proper amount of sleep for a while. 

However, she knew Adrien was scared to go home to his father. For heaven's sake, she was intimidated by him as well. What wasn't there to be intimidated by when it came to the Gabriel Agreste? 

She wasn't sure how to bring up the matter, but she had promised him that he wouldn't be alone in explaining to his father why he hadn't gone with Nathalie. It broke her heart seeing him actually reduced to tears in fear of his own father, his only family. 

At the moment they turned towards the bakery, she was able to see the limo parked in front. She noticed Adrien had stopped walking when he saw the same sight. Marinette frowned as she saw him begin to tremble slightly. 

"It's okay," she reminded him, "Hey, I promised I'd help you out." 

He shook his head, "I'll be alright, Marinette. I don't want you getting in trouble."

Taking a deep breath, he walked beside Marinette into the bakery. He noticed he felt less terrified of his father with Marinette's presence. 

"There they are now," Sabine pointed out to Nathalie. 

Glancing around, he realized his father wasn't even there. It was just his frantic caretaker in the bakery, who glared daggers at the boy the moment she realized he was there. 

"Oh, hi Nathalie," Adrien greeted her sheepishly. 

"Hi! I'm so sorry it's late. Please don't get Adrien in trouble, I needed help with school stuff and he was nice enough to tutor me!" Marinette immediately told her, causing the woman's blue-gray eyes to shift to hers with confusion. 

"No, it was my responsi—" Adrien began, but Nathalie cut him off. 

"We have to go, Adrien. Your father is expecting you," she demanded, her tone rather harsh. 

"O-Okay. Can I go back up to grab my things?" Adrien asked permission, to which she agreed in the condition it would be done in a hasty manner. 

Marinette followed him back into her room. It gave her a heart attack when the first thing she saw Adrien see was the huge pull-down board with his entire schedule for the year on it. Curiously, his eyes wandered to it. There were a few inaccuracies he noticed, but it was mostly correct. 

Of course, to Marinette's embarrassment, it said in large letters, with red hearts drawn around it, "ADRIEN'S SCHEDULE."

Her heart drew to a stop, skipping a few beats before pounding furiously in her chest. Her worst nightmare was happening. 

He was finding out the truth. 

"Oh, my schedule?"

He picked up his backpack halfheartedly, slumping with dread. 

"T-That's— uh... that's not— er," Marinette struggled, her newfound confidence to talk to him naturally flying out the window. Hot tears of embarrassment were beginning to well up in her eyes, and a lump formed.

Marinette thought he looked so upset, almost like he didn't even want to deal with her crush on him. 

She was so scared of what he was going to tell her. Now he knew she was an obsessed stalker with a creepy crush, and she was growing more and more afraid of how he would react.

"Adrien!!" Nathalie called from downstairs rushingly. 

He turned to her to say something, but her gaze remained downcast in shame. She couldn't find the audacity to look him in the eye. 

"Bye," was all he could muster to say before he went back downstairs to follow Nathalie out.

The moment the trap door closed, Marinette turned to look at the embarrassing, huge schedule. She didn't leave it like that! That had to be Camille. 

As much as she knew kids were capable of doing things they didn't know were harmful, she felt an overwhelming sense of resentment. She wasn't even sure who or what it was aimed at, but before she was able to think, she began angrily tearing at that dumb schedule, furiously sobbing.

She dropped to her knees, allowing herself to sob. Why did Camille have to leave the schedule like this? Why did he have to figure it out now? How was she going to ever see him again without the awkwardness? He was probably creeped out and disgusted by her now, and she couldn't find it in herself to blame him. What kind of "friend" who claimed to care about him keeps an embarrassingly obsessive schedule? 

Even after she put her pajamas back on, she couldn’t stop her tears from running. She was so embarrassed, and figured she needed to transfer classes. Maybe she should transfer schools?

How was it that what felt like the best day of her life turned into one of the worst days?


	11. Chapter 11

When Marinette awoke that next morning, she felt the dried tears on her cheeks and that slightly stuffy nose. Groaning, she realized she had fallen asleep sitting on the floor, with her head resting on her crossed arms over the chaise. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up to realize she was surrounded by the ripped paper remains of Adrien's schedule. 

Oh... that's right. 

She practically found a way to make the world's kindest boy disgusted with her. 

Her annoyance from the night before was gone, and instead replaced with shame and sadness. She knew she couldn't blame anyone but herself for making that dumb schedule in the first place. No normal person makes an obsessive schedule for their crush, no matter how much they might admire them. Marinette thought Adrien found her to be a borderline stalker, and now he probably wanted nothing to do with her. 

She couldn't even think of facing the boy after the events of the night before. Marinette knew she put him in an awkward position, seeing as he seemed to really like Kagami. 

Maybe she could ask to change seats so Adrien wouldn't feel her creepy blue eyes on the back of his head? 

While that was a perfectly great option to her, she thought maybe she should write him a letter of apology and hand it— no, ask Alya— to hand it to him. 

Okay, it was early enough for her to get a good start on that letter. 

She sluggishly dragged herself on top of the chaise, sitting up for a good moment. As much as she wanted to drop herself back onto the chaise and fall asleep, she pulled herself up and sat at her desk. Pulling out her stationary paper and a black pen, she began her letter.

Dear Adrien, 

I would like to deeply apologize for last night.

Okay, she started it off pretty strong. Now she had to explain her apology.

What you had seen was inexcusable and immature of me, as I had created that schedule when I was 13 years old. I know I should've taken it down before, and shouldn't have even created it in the first place. I'd like you to know that I took it down. Again, I apologize for everything. I will not be bothering you anymore.

That was still good, although it hurt her heart and burned her cheeks to write that last sentence. She had destroyed her friendship with Adrien, but this was the right thing to do, right?

Her mind couldn't help but wander to how it wouldn't have even been discovered if her younger sister hadn't left the schedule out in the first place. 

She shook her head, knowing her sister was just a kid who didn't know what she was doing. If anything, it was still her own fault for being creepy.

Sincerely, 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

* * *   
"Mari, can I ask you something?" Camille tugged on Marinette's wrist gently as they walked beside each other. 

The older girl glanced down at her, "Sure! What's up?" Marinette asked.

Camille looked up at her, opening her mouth, then she looked down sadly. "Did I make you cry yesterday?"

Marinette felt her heart drop a little. She heard her? 

"No... and I wasn't crying," she lied, not wanting to make her feel bad. Of course, there was that schedule thing with Adrien, but that was more her fault than Camille's.

"I'm sorry. I heard you crying super super hard last night, and no one else was awake but I couldn't reach the ladder to come hug you," Camille admitted, still looking down shamefully.

A small smile came over Marinette at how sweet her sister was. It made her feel even guiltier for possibly even considering getting annoyed with her. She wished she could be the best older sister ever, but instead, her sister was stuck with a creepy boy-stalker excuse for a girl instead of a good role model.

"It wasn't your fault, Camille. Don't worry about it," Marinette placed her hand on her shoulder. 

"Did Arwen hurt you?" She asked, frowning a little. 

"No, no. It was my own fault. It's okay," Marinette pushed herself to laugh, but her shoulders were dropping in opposition. 

In her backpack, that letter seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. Aside from that, Marinette was aware she had to take Camille to her first day of school. 

She remembered crying herself when her mother left the classroom, but thanks to Nino, she was cheered up. If Camille had a hard time, she'd have to find her a little Nino. 

Once they arrived to the classroom, Camille was hiding behind Marinette in shame. "Mari!" She whisper-shouted, pulling on her arm. "I'm the only bald person here!" 

Turning around, she whispered to her, "Hey, you're starting a cool trend! You're not like the other girls with their boring long hair." 

Reluctantly, Camille shrank behind her as if Marinette were a shield. 

"Oh come on. You look super cute in your new first-day-of-school outfit!" Marinette tried to convince her, but she clung onto her side tightly. 

"Mrs. Tylure, the new boy doesn't have hair! Does he have cannibal?" A boy from the class yelled out. 

"You mean cancel?" A girl jumped in correctively. 

"The word is 'cancer,' and Camille is a girl. Please be polite," the teacher answered them, getting up from her desk. She was an elderly woman with black hair, gray streaking through it. 

"I thought girls had long hair," a kid whispered to another kid rather loudly.

Walking over to the door where Marinette was gently trying to persuade her sister to go on into the classroom, she offered a kind smile to the both of them. "You must be Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. I can assure you that your daughter will learn a lot here! She'll be a part of the class in no time!" 

Marinette smiled, chuckling a bit, "Thank you. I'm Marinette, Camille's older sister. I'll most likely be the one dropping her off everyday and picking her up."

Glancing down at Camille, she seemed to grow terrified at the notion she was being dropped off. Her hug around Marinette's waist tightened anxiously, and she began to shake a little.

"It's nice to meet you, Marinette and Camille. Come along, dear. Your sister will be back later today," Mrs. Tylure greeted, waving the younger girl over. 

"You'll have so much fun here, you won't even want to leave," Marinette reassured her, bending down to hug her. 

"P-please don't leave," Camille begged, beginning to whimper as tears gathered in her eyes. She buried her face into Marinette's shoulder, trying to hide from everyone. 

All eyes landed on the small bald girl, who looked up and noticed all the stares. Marinette picked her up as she heard her begin to cry. "Let me have a moment with her outside. I'll be back," she whispered to the teacher. 

Walking outside, she carried the trembling, sobbing child. Marinette sat down on the planter, sitting Camille down beside her. 

"Hey Camille, what's wrong?" She asked gently, although she already had a good idea. Marinette did the same exact thing when she was her age, so it made sense. However, she knew talking about it might make the younger girl feel better.

"I-I don't want to be here! I want to go with you! Can we please please go back to class with Mrs. Menleaf and Alya?" Camille begged, crying. 

"That's a class for old farts like Alya and me. You can have your own class, and I bet it's a lot more fun than mine! Why don't you want to stay?" Marinette asked. 

"I don't want you to leave! I don't have hair so I'm boy, and I want to be a girl! I'm not pretty, Mari!!" She sobbed, trembling with anxiety. She held her hands over her face, crying. 

Marinette pulled her back into a tight hug, and immediately told her, "Some girls don't have hair either. It doesn't mean they're boys, and neither are you. Hair doesn't make you pretty, but your heart does. Remember when I told you that?" 

She clung onto Marinette, nodding slowly. 

"When you're kind to others, it makes you the most beautiful person. You've got a kind heart, Camille, and it makes you a beautiful princess. Got it?" Marinette explained. 

After she finally got the girl to get into the classroom, albeit rather reluctantly, she walked in with her and waved goodbye.

 

Finally, she was able to begin her own dreadful walk of shame to school. 

When she got into the classroom, she noticed Adrien looking down at his paper, getting an early start on the assignment.

Why did she have to ruin her friendship with him? She looked towards Alya, who looked back at her then looked at Adrien in front of her with a grin. 

Just as she was about to say something to him, Marinette bolted up to their seat, yanking Alya back with wide eyes and a cringe. 

"What the heck is the matter with you, girl? Usually you're not that nervous," Alya asked, walking to the back of the class with her. 

"Do you mind if we move seats? I'd like to sit in the back now," Marinette muttered, dropping her backpack under the desk in the back. 

"Marinette, Alya? What are you doing back here?" Lila asked innocently. 

"Lila, would you mind switching seats with me?" Marinette asked dejectedly, watching her face grow genuinely surprised. Of course she knew Lila had a thing for Adrien and that she'd be ecstatic to sit behind him. As much as she didn't want him being lied to by this brat, she knew he was smart enough not to fall for it.

"Girl, are you feeling okay?" Alya asked the girl, who sat beside Lila and pulled a small envelope out. 

"Yes! I mean— are you sure? Don't you like your seat?" Lila asked, putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"Please, Lila. If you can do this for me, I'd be so thankful," Marinette told her, not able to look her in the eyes either. "I know we're not exactly the best of friends, but please..." she whispered to her pleadingly.

Lila nodded quickly, pulling up her backpack from under the desk and running to where Marinette used to sit. 

"What in the world is going on? Girl, I swear— if Adrien—" Alya exploded, but Marinette hushed her quickly. 

"It's not him! It was me... I made him so uncomfortable, Alya! Camille accidentally left my schedule of his full year out, and he saw that, and left really quickly. I made him disgusted," Marinette explained, obviously growing upset. Her entire face was red, and her ears and shoulders were tinged with the same color. She let out an exhausted whine and dropped her face into the desk.

"Marinette, I'm sure you didn't! He doesn't even get disgusted with Chloe, and she's the most obsessive, possessive girl on the face of this planet," Alya tried to assure her, shaking her shoulder a little.

She looked down at the envelop, and glanced at the time on the wall. If she did it in exactly 30 seconds, she could give it to him right as the bell rang, meaning he couldn't talk to her. There was a door beside her in the back, so she had an escape plan for after class if he tried to approach her. 

This was a little ridiculous.

Right on time, she nervously approached Adrien's desk, unable to look him in the eye. She didn't see him wave.

"Hey—"

"Sorry," she mumbled as she cut him off, handing him the letter and turning around to go back to her desk. 

"Marinette—" 

Beeeeeeeeeeep.

"Alright, class! Let's begin from where we ended last time! Get out your notes!" The teacher began as the girl quickly walked back to her desk. She felt Adrien's concerned gaze follow her, and she strayed her own eyes far away from his own.

Alya looked over at her best friend, who opened her tablet to the notes app. "Marinette, what was in that letter?" She asked, color draining from her face.

"Not a prescription for constipation this time," Marinette muttered, scribbling down notes from the PowerPoint. 

"Oh my goodness. Marinette, Adrien thinks very highly of you. There's no way seeing a single schedule is going to make him hate you," she whispered. 

"He does," she whispered back with drooping shoulders. 

"Marinette, Alya? What are you doing out of your seats?!" The teacher demanded, but Lila quickly stood up to their defense. 

"Oh don't worry! Marinette didn't feel comfortable in her seat, so she asked to swap seats and I agreed. She won't be able to focus very well in class if she's not comfortable," Lila explained, running up beside Marinette to give her a quick-side hug. Although she was annoyed with Lila, she didn't resist or groan.

Everyone looked back questioningly, probably wondering why in the world she was uncomfortable in her old seat. 

Adrien looked back at her with concern, and she ripped away her eye contact within the second they caught it. 

"Alright, Marinette, see me after class please. Alya, you can stay with Marinette," Mrs. Mendeleev replied curtly. 

If she was allowing this, she must be in a better mood than usual, Marinette thought. Thankfully, Lila went back to her seat rather quickly afterwards. 

She glanced back at Adrien, who frowned with worry, and she quickly looked away. Was he worried that she'd continue bothering him? That she might watch him from a further distance? 

Okay, that didn't sound like Adrien, but she wasn't sure what to think. All she knew was that she was truly embarrassed by the event of the night before. 

At least the posters could be excused as being a "fan," but no fan, no matter how crazy, would have a schedule of their idol. That was borderline stalking, and she was so ashamed of herself for doing it in the first place. 

She flickered her gaze, only focusing on her tablet and the slideshow of notes in the front of the room. She made sure not to directly look at Adrien for the remainder of the period. 

"Girl, go talk to him. I'm sure he doesn't feel that way," Alya pushed on, sighing at the childish measures her friend was taking to avoid facing her embarrassment, "Just tell him the actual truth, and the worst thing that can happen is that you're just a really good friend to him. To me, that doesn't sound all that bad. It's way better than avoiding him altogether."

Alya saw Adrien open the envelop and read the letter. His shoulders raised, and he spun around in protest to Marinette, but he couldn't break her sturdy, focused gaze from her tablet to a quick flicker to the front. 

"Mister Agreste, is there a reason you aren't facing forward?!" Mrs. Mendeleev snapped, her voice pounding throughout the room in an angry echo, "Do you want to learn something from me today or do you want to go dilly-dally in the halls? Don't be wasting your time, or my time!" 

Okay, Marinette realized, Mrs. Mendeleev was not in the best mood. She felt sorry for Adrien, but still didn't want to look in the case that he'd see her eye contact and think she was being creepy again. 

"Marinette!" Alya hissed in a whisper, smacking her friend in the arm, "Adrien is worried about you, and he keeps looking at you to catch your eye!" 

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mendeleev. It won't happen again," Adrien apologized dejectedly. 

Once the bell rang, Marinette took a deep sigh. 

"Go on," the teacher rushed everyone out of the class, except Marinette. 

"I'll be waiting for you outside," Alya told her as she walked by her, the last to leave the classroom. 

Once she was gone, Mrs. Mendeleev closed the door. Turning around, she looked at Marinette, somewhat sympathetically. 

"I noticed you wanted to move seats, and stay in the back. What is going on?" She asked, although with her usual tone of voice, it sounded more like a demand when she didn't mean for it to be. 

Marinette's head fell, and she sat in the front desk. "I'm sorry... I meant to ask, but... he was already here, and I didn't want to ask in front of him."

"Adrien?" Mrs. Mendeleev confirmed questioningly. 

"Yeah. During our project that we worked on together last night, he... saw something embarrassing that probably made him uncomfortable. I didn't want to make him more uncomfortable by sitting so close, so I did ask Lila if we could exchange seats," Marinette admitted shamefully.  

"Well... If you manage to resolve this with Adrien, please let me know and I will change your seat back," she told her, pushing her glasses further up her nose-bridge. 

"Thank you, but I'm not sure if we'll ever get to that," Marinette forced out a laugh, looking down sadly. 

"I wouldn't be sure," Mrs. Mendeleev rose an eyebrow, hardly cracking the smallest bit of a smile, "He seemed to be concerned for you, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette offered a half-smile and picked up her backpack as Mrs. Mendeleev walked back to her desk. "Don't forget projects are due tomorrow."

She nodded her head and walked out, only to find Alya was leaning her ear against the door. 

"Marinette, what do you have to lose by talking to the boy?" Alya asked persistently, shaking her best friend by the shoulders as if she were trying to convey the message more harshly.

"I know, but I... I don't know how to face him now," Marinette replied, gently plucking her friend's hands from her shoulders. 

Out of nowhere, a crowd of shrieks and screams sounded from the outside of the school, and Marinette knew what was happening. 

"Alya, I need to pee!" She told her, suddenly sprinting in the direction of the bathroom. 

"Wait, Marinette! I think there's an akuma! You don't have time to..." Alya's voice faded with distance as she ran further and further away. 

A crowd of people huddled in the bathroom, and Marinette decided it wasn't the best place to transform. She needed an isolated area.

Quickly, she spun around and ran right past Adrien, accidentally bumping his shoulder as she did so. 

"Wait, Marinette!!" He called out. 

"I'm sorry!" She called back apologetically for bumping him, but she continued to run. 

Marinette ran all the way out of a back exit of the school, using the area to transform. 

"Marinette!" Tikki flew out from her purse frantically. 

"I know, it's time to transform," she replied, "Spots on!" 

When she transformed, it was almost like a sense of embarrassment and shame was lifted from her back, and she was free. It almost felt like Marinette was weighing her down, but Ladybug was free of the burdening stress. 

Not having much time to appreciate it, she used her yo-yo to get on the top of the school to get a better look at where the akuma might be. 

There were blue, opaque balls rolling around Paris,  causing Ladybug to wonder exactly was Hawkmoth was trying to do with that.

Not a second later, Chat Noir dropped in silently beside her.

"Oh hey, Chat. Do you know where the akuma victim is? All I can see are blue balls rolling around," she pointed out to him. 

He shrugged, his shoulders sagging down further than the usual high, confident posture he previously held as his alter ego. 

"Hey, are you okay?" She stopped him as they walked along the rooftop to get a better view, grabbing his wrist softly. 

He nodded, offering a half-smile. However, he didn't have those big, excited eyes he usually had. 

"Did something happen? You can always talk to me, Chat. We're partners, and you know I care about you," Ladybug asked, pushing on a bit. 

"Thanks, Ladybug. Don't worry about it," Chat Noir patted her shoulder, then took off to find the akuma victim. 

Shaking her head, she followed beside him, looking around as well. Who was creating these random balls of blue? 

She glanced back at her partner, and sighed a little. 

"The akuma is probably the bigger blue ball over there," Chat pointed out, to which she nodded and followed him towards it. 

When they got there, it seemed to bounce up and down voicelessly. Chat whacked it with his staff, to which it yanked from him and swallowed it, growing a little bigger. 

It tried to roll over the heroes, but they quickly escaped. 

"I think it's trying to swallow us!" Ladybug yelled out to him, slightly distraught.

"Where would its akuma even be? It's a blue ball!" Chat Noir exclaimed, throwing his arms up. 

Ladybug called her Lucky Charm, which ended up being a kid's toy. It was a clear box, which had red rims around the edges. On the inside, it had a small metal ball. She noticed it couldn't be opened. 

She glanced down at the toy again, then turned her gaze toward the ball. She threw the box at the ball, and it was swallowed, then spit out in a tiny ball.

"Hmm... I think it might be inside the ball. If we get swallowed, it would spit us out into our own smaller balls," the heroine told him thoughtfully as they avoided the ball's roll again. 

"Should I cataclysm it from the surface so we can get to its core?" He asked her, preparing his hand. 

"Wait. Maybe I can get swallowed by the ball, then when I'm in there— wait, you should get swallowed in there. You have the cataclysm! Look for something out of place as quickly as you can, and destroy it from the inside."

Chat Noir nodded, and she quickly grabbed his wrist.  She knew it wasn't that dangerous, but to still felt wrong to let her partner practically sacrifice himself for the sake of their mission. Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye to which she noticed his still carried a sense of sadness she couldn't shake from him.

"Be careful, kitty."


	12. Chapter 12

When Chat Noir was swallowed by that blue ball, Ladybug felt her heart fall and she didn't feel the cry escape her throat or the toy fall from her hand.

"No!! Chat!" 

Hardly a short moment later, the thing was destroyed by her partner's cataclysm. A tall teenager boy fell to the ground beside Chat Noir, who was holding the ashes of something. 

Ladybug quickly purified the akuma, and pulled her partner in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his waist as she buried her face into his chest with relief. 

"Ladybug?" Chat Noir squeaked out in surprise, holding her in a returned embrace. He squeezed her nevertheless, unsure as to why the plan rattled her emotions considering she was the one who suggested it. 

"Sorry," she mumbled, still squeezing her arms around the cold, somewhat refreshing leather she could feel beneath her suit. 

"I'm not complaining, LB. I could always use a hug," Chat chuckled, holding her tightly. 

"Can we please talk?" She asked him, watching his sweet green eyes sadden as he remembered what he was initially feeling. 

"It's really okay, I promise. Let's get that lucky charm returned though," he gently reminded her, causing her to look at him exhaustedly and pull free of their embrace.

She bent down to pick up the toy, then throw it up. Looking around, she saw an emotional teenage girl run to the victim and attack him with love. "William Diplon, don't you ever get freaking akumatized again! I love you so much! What's wrong? Who did this to you?" The brunette asked her boyfriend, holding him as tightly as she could. 

He hid his face in her hair, hugging her back shakily in absolute horror of what happened. 

"Come on, you're coming home with me and watching funny, sweet movies until you feel better," the girl told him, letting go to put her arm around him as they walked away. 

"I guess that handles them," Ladybug told Chat Noir, who was trying to sneak away before she snatched him by the tail. "Now, please tell me why you're so sad! I don't want you getting akumatized either, kitty, or feeling sad." 

He sighed, turning around and walking back. "It's not anything superhero-related. It's just about this girl..." 

Ladybug felt her stomach twist a little with annoyance. This girl wasn't a good person, whoever she was, making her partner so sad. 

"I don't want to ask names or anything because that's a little invasive, but did she do to you?" The heroine asked him, leading him to sit beside her. 

"It's not what she did to me, but... I don't know. It's not that big a deal. Now she won't even give me a chance to tell her anything, and I feel so bad," he explained as vaguely as he could. 

Was it Lila being dramatic and trying to manipulate her partner's civilian form?

"Hmm, well I wouldn't give this brat a time of day if she's giving you this much of a problem," Ladybug told him, causing him to send a glare. 

"She's definitely not a brat, Ladybug. I just don't know how to approach her without making her run away."

"She seems a bit mouse-like to me. Maybe, if she's really worth the effort, you can eventually get her to come to you by giving her a little bit of distance but still being nice to her," She advised, hoping it wasn't Lila he was talking about. Chat knew she was a brat though, so it couldn't be, right? 

"If I let her distance herself from me, she might think I'm okay with her ending our friendship and move on. I don't really don't want to lose her," he replied dolefully. 

Both of their jewels made a beeping noise, and they looked, finally having realized that it had been beeping quite a few times and scattered away quickly before they detransformed in front of one another. 

"I'm sorry! Good luck, Chat!"

* * *

Marinette ran back to school, making sure to stay hidden. She snuck back through the dark exit she left from, and found her way through to the main area of the school where the rest of the students were. 

They were still on a break due to the akuma attack, which would probably leave them with a little more time before they had to get back to their classes. She saw Ivan and quietly walked behind his larger figure to avoid getting seen by Adrien or Alya. 

Was she overreacting? Marinette questioned it, but she really couldn't see herself facing Adrien after the whole mishap. She had basically called off their friendship already, and he didn't need to say anything more. 

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Ivan inquired, noticing how shyly she walked behind him. 

Embarrassed he finally noticed, she jumped up and attempted to look casual as she threw her back against the wall, crossing her arms and leg over the other. "Yeah! Totally fine!" The girl replied rather loudly, turning red at that fact as well. 

"Is someone bothering you? Kim and I wouldn't mind handling them," he offered, smacking his fist into his open hand a little jokingly. 

"No, don't worry! Everything is fine!" Marinette claimed, giggling a little at his big brother-like protectiveness over their friendship. 

"Really though. What's bothering you? You wouldn't leave me alone when Kim was being a butthole, and I won't leave my friend alone either," Ivan replied, a bit more seriously.

"It's not anyone bothering me," Marinette admitted, still pretty embarrassed about Adrien. "I just did something incredibly dumb and someone found out about it, and I'm really embarrassed about it."

"I'm sure whatever you did wasn't that embarrassing," Ivan tried to reassure the girl. 

"Trust me. It was," Marinette told him, sighing. 

"I'm sure whoever found your so-called embarrassing thing will forget about it soon, and it'll be like it never happened," the bigger teenage boy told her. 

"Hey Ivan! Hi Marinette!" Mylene came up to the two of them happily. "I haven't had the chance to talk to you in a while, Marinette! How are things?" 

Ivan offered a comforting smile to Marinette as he held his arm around his girlfriend, Mylene. 

"All good! I moved because I felt like it!" Marinette threw both thumbs up to show positivity. 

"Oh yeah! I saw that today! What did Adrien do, girl? He looked so apologetic today!" Mylene asked. 

"He didn't do anything. He just saw something embarrassing during our partner project he wasn't supposed to see and I got embarrassed," she finally told them. 

"Was it the posters?" Mylene asked sympathetically. 

"No... just a particular pull-down one."

Ivan’s eyes widened and he held his hand over his mouth. It wasn’t exactly hidden knowledge that his classmate had put up posters of Adrien on her walls, especially after Jagged Stone’s show exposed that secret.

"Oh..." Mylene replied, looking at her with pity, "Well... I'm sure he— is used to it? Right? He's a celebrity, he's got a lot of fans!" 

"Sure," Marinette replied, but froze when she noticed the blond boy walking in the hall. "I— actually gotta run. To the toilet. Yeah, see you both in class!" 

The girl took off in a sprint, but then the announcement over the speaker went off. 

"All students may proceed to their next class."

She groaned, realizing her and Adrien shared that class as well. It was Pre-Calculus class where the two of them sat close to one another. It used to excite her sitting directly beside him, but now she dreaded it. The teacher allowed collaboration during homework time, so she imagined the two of them would have to deal with each other. 

It was time to deal with the inevitable and hear the friendship breakup be made official by the boy himself. She knew she had to prepare herself not to burst into tears and make him feel awkward. 

Hanging her head low with drooping shoulders, she walked into the classroom. Alya, who sat directly behind her, looked at her sympathetically. Adrien wasn't there yet, so she had time to gather herself. 

Before she could even realize it, her eyes were stinging with annoying tears sitting on the rim and blurring her vision as her face heated. She sturdied her lower lip and tried not to have a small breakdown in class. 

When Adrien arrived, she felt a tear slip down her face, and she quickly wiped it away. 

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked as he sat beside the girl who was trying so desperately not to look like she was about to cry. 

"Y—" she tried to reply, but the lump in her throat grew, so she nodded her head as she squeezed her eyes shut. Through shut eyes, she felt her face begin to crumple, and she felt her entire body shudder against her will. 

Gosh, why was she freaking crying? She wasn't the victim here! Adrien was! Marinette felt so ashamed for even feeling sorry for herself. What did she need to cry for?

She felt Adrien place his hand on her shoulder, causing her eyes to fly open. As soon as her eyelids lifted, all the tears she managed to hold in had suddenly spilled over the edge and onto her cheeks, burning them with salty water. She groaned and dropped her face into her arms in shame as she felt herself begin to cry just as hard as she did her room the night before. 

“Girl, don’t worry,” Alya pulled her into her side, giving her a hug.

"Marinette, hey, it's okay!" Adrien tried to comfort his friend, lightly rubbing her shoulder and squeezing it. "Please don't cry. Let's go talk outside," he pleaded, wanting to let her have some privacy away from the class. 

The teacher dismissed the two of them, too scared to deal with a crying teenager. Adrien led her out gently, placing a hand over her back.

"I'm— so sorry, Adrien!! I know it was so creepy, and I shouldn't have made it! I shouldn't have kept it! I'm so sorry you saw it, and I'm sorry I made it! It's weird, and I promise I'm not a stalker," Marinette spoke through harsh sobs, although her words were hard to hear through her crying. 

"Please don't cry, Marinette. It's okay! I don't mind it at all! You're such a kind, sweet girl and there's no way I find you creepy in any way. I adore you, and would never want to end our friendship over your concern. I care about you so much, and I promise you I'm not upset in any way. Your happiness and friendship means the world to me," Adrien quickly reassured her, pulling her hand in his. 

Her sobs slowed down, and she wiped away her tears as quickly as they came. "I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore," she told him, trying to stop her crying. 

"No, of course I do! You were my first actual friend that I made on my own, and you matter to me so much," he told her. Of course the schedule thing was a little odd in his opinion, but it wasn't worth ending this relationship he built with her over it. 

"I had such a crazy crush on you when we began to be friends," Marinette admitted, laughing a little through her tears. She thought she probably looked insane laughing and crying at the same time, but to her relief, Adrien laughed kindly. 

"Had? I'm assuming you've got a crush on Luka now, huh?" Adrien put his hands on his hips, jokingly offended to cheer her up. 

"I still— I might still have a... bit of a crush," Marinette admitted awkwardly, hiding her face in her hands. 

Why did she think admitting it now was the best idea? She sure as heck made him hate her now! 

"On Luka?" 

Or could she take this chance to escape and get away with it? Besides, it wasn't like Luka was the worst option ever.

As much as she wanted to take this ladder he practically handed her and climb out of the hole she dug herself into, she couldn't find it in her to keep lying to him. 

She wasn't a liar, she wasn't Lila Rossi. It was her time to be honest. 

Could she do it? Or should she play it safe and go with Luka as her best option? 

Maybe it was best to let things play out without words, and let fate take the wheel. She loved Adrien, but it wasn't fair to him if she still felt so strongly for Luka, was it?

Maybe for now, she could take the friendship and try to improve it before jumping into the boat of feelings and a possible real relationship. Her fourteen year old self would've jumped at the chance of being with Adrien, and she still held some of that childish wishfulness, but she also had a newer sense. It was something that made her feel like she needed to put together everything and figure out her feelings before going steady or confessing. It was a rather mature sense of responsibility she felt she owed to Adrien, Luka, but mostly her heart. 

She loved Adrien and always had, and there was an undeniable spark she felt around Luka. Was it just a silly crush, or did she actually feel real feelings for Luka? 

Of course, as she looked into the hopeful eyes of her longtime crush, she wanted to admit her feelings so badly. Her heart was tearing itself apart as her mouth ran dry wordlessly. 

She looked at the ground, and simply allowed herself to shrug. 

Adrien pushed a smile, and placed a hand over her shoulder. "Hey, whatever happens, just know you can always count me as someone who cares. You were there for me yesterday when I emotionally fell apart, and I'll always be here for you. I wasn't mad at you yesterday, or upset with you. I was just scared to deal with my father so I might've been a bit weird." 

Marinette's eyes flickered back up to his hurt ones, and she asked, "Is everything okay with your father?"

"It's fine actually! He let me come to school, but he preferred that you come over for the project tonight actually," Adrien laughed a little, although it came off rather nervously. "He did scream at me for ignoring my phone and threatened to— uh, lock me in my room, but hey, he still let me come to school!" 

Marinette felt her heart break just imagining Adrien, already having been earlier reduced to tears in fear of his father, dealing with his father screaming at him for having a little bit of fun. She remembered him telling her as Ladybug that he was actually claustrophobic when Kagami was akumatized for the first time, probably because of how often his father locked him in his room so often, and he was just rolling out threats of locking him in his room. 

And here she had been, just being a dramatic brat, running away from him in desperate need of some sort of comfort in a different environment. He needed a friend in times like this, and one who he could rely on. That dumb schedule didn't matter, but their relationship did to him. 

"Let's work on that project then," Marinette offered a smile, "It is due tomorrow after all!" 

Adrien nodded rather excitedly, pulling her into a side-hug. "Let's do that! You can ride with me in the limo after school," he suggested, feeling Marinette lightly squeeze him back.

"Sounds awesome," she replied, wiping her face of the last of her dried tears. At least for today, she thought, he could go home with a friend who cared about him. 

"So are we okay?" He asked as they headed back towards the class.

"Yeah," Marinette told him sheepishly, "Sorry again for that whole thing."

"Oh, don't even worry. I'm sure Nathalie posted a more accurate, error-free version of the schedule on the Gabriel Agreste website somewhere."


	13. Chapter 13

At lunchtime, Marinette had to race to pick up Camille from her first day of class and take her home. When she had arrived, she was immediately met with a hug from her terrified little sister. 

"Mari, I wanna go!!" She cried into Marinette's shirt, clinging onto her like her life depended on it. 

Well, to Camille, it felt like her life did depend on Marinette. She only trusted her in this new place, and only her alone. Her grandmother had shown her several pictures of Marinette while she was still in China, and told her all about how good of a person she was. She did overhear the truth once about her actual mother preferring to give her to her grandmother than keep her, so she wasn't too enthused to stay with her.

She was just thrown into some random situation where all of a sudden she doesn't see the person who raised her ever again, gets thrown into a new family where she only trusts one person, gets stuck in a new country, loses all of her hair, then gets stuck in some weird classroom without her older sister where no one wants to talk to her nicely and only likes to bully her. She was already terrified enough as it was, and now she was getting things thrown at her bald head during recess. 

Camille was not happy at all. 

She just wanted to go home, get her hair back, and be with her grandmother again. 

"What happened? Did you have a good day at school?" Marinette asked, lifting her up to carry her home. She knew she'd likely be tired from school, and the school was quite a distance from her house, so she wasn't planning on making her walk. 

Camille shook her head silently, closing her eyes as she hid her face in Marinette's shoulder when she saw her classmates looking at her.

"You didn't have a good day? What happened Camille?" Marinette asked, her voice laced with concern. 

"I wanna go home," Camille whimpered as quietly as she could.

What in the world happened? 

Well, to answer that, she wasn't exactly clueless about the situation. Of course, having enough experience with Chloe from the majority of her own school years, she could see the possibility of a bully existing in her sister's class. 

Marinette decided she'd talk to the teacher the next day before dropping off Camille. Maybe she'd get more details about whatever happened today when they got home, so she could find and ask the parents of the kids who possibility poked fun at Camille to talk to their child about other kids looking a little different. 

"We'll get home soon, I promise," Marinette told her, gently patting her back. 

As she'd expected, halfway through the walk home, Camille had fallen asleep in her arms as she carried her. She knew she had probably felt as if she had a long day, considering she seemed to develop a small separation anxiety with her. Going to a new school had to have been scary, Marinette thought, so she worried her little sister would be too scared to go the next day. 

When she finally got home, Marinette rested Camille on the couch in the living room to continue napping. She walked into the kitchen, to which her mom greeted her.

"Hey sweetie. I saw Camille was already asleep. Did she tell you about her day at school?" Sabine asked as she put a box into the refrigerator. 

"She didn't say much, but it wasn't good. Camille was not happy this morning when she found out I was leaving her by herself at school. She wanted to come with me so badly," Marinette told her. 

Honestly, as much as Marinette knew her parents were busy, she was confused as to why she was parenting a sister she hadn't even known was born. Of course, she was completely accepting of this responsibility, but it something she wished she could've been told about. She couldn't help but want to question why she wasn't part of their family the whole time. Why didn't her parents want to raise her before her grandmother died? 

"I take it she isn't too enthusiastic about coming to school tomorrow either," Sabine assumed, sighing, "Poor girl. It seems like she's really attached herself to you, Marinette."

"I don't think so," she replied to the first part, but felt sad about that last part. It only made her want to question her mother more. 

"When you left her with me, she cried for you for a little while. Even when I tried to cheer her up with cookies, she was scared that you weren't there," Sabine told her. 

Okay, Marinette finally decided, it was time to get some answers. "Maman? I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" Her mother patiently leaned with her elbow against the counter, resting her chin in her hand with exhaustion. 

Looking back to make sure Camille was asleep, Marinette decided to ask, "So you know how we just got Camille out of nowhere? Why didn't she stay with us when she was born?" 

Sabine's eyes widened, and she pulled her elbow off the counter as she straightened. Looking back at her daughter, she could see the curiosity and desperation to know the truth in her eyes. 

Biting her lip, she closed her eyes as she tried to think of a way to put it. She turned around for a moment, picking up the teapot then placing it back down straight after.

Her daughter had to know the truth. She didn't deserve to be kept from it, especially now that she was nearly an adult. 

"Camille... I— didn't plan her," she finally admitted, "With your birth, I planned everything and it went perfectly. My pregnancy with you went so smoothly, and giving birth was like you'd expect it to be."

Marinette tilted her head a little as she bit her lip. Her little sister was an accident? 

So basically, she didn't want to have her, and she wanted to give the baby to her grandmother instead? Why couldn't she just have brought her back home that time? 

Marinette knew she would've been ecstatic to know she was an older sister at the time, and would've helped out. 

Still, she allowed her mother time to continue and likely answer her questions. The guilt was written all over her face, and her pain nearly broke Marinette's heart. 

"For Camille on the other hand, I... didn't expect her. I didn't plan anything, and the pregnancy was so... so hard. Giving birth was... almost fatal, and I ended up having the worst- worst postpartum depression. It felt horrible, and I felt like the worst person alive for having it with her. I just— I couldn't connect with her or bond with her like my own mother could. I didn't want her to feel unloved so I... let my mother keep her. That way I knew she was being cared for and loved," Sabine admitted to Marinette, causing her to go a little numb. 

"Plus with Hawkmoth suddenly being a problem at the time, I didn't think it was healthy to have a baby around the akuma-ridden city of Paris where she'd have to grow up in fear of being turned into a monster."

So to get it straight, she could've been half-orphaned while her mom gave birth. Sabine couldn't feel a loving connection with her baby after that, so she left her with someone she trusted.

What was postpartum depression? Marinette was worried about the word, but other than that, she wasn't sure how to feel. 

On one hand, she felt her stomach twist at the painful word, depression. Her mother was clinically diagnosed with a kind of depression, and she hadn't even mentioned a word of it to her while she had gone through it. 

On another hand, she felt sad for Camille. Did she even know who her mother was, or get to meet her at any time before this visit? This girl was obviously terrified and readily latched herself to the first mother-like figure she came across when she arrived, which had been her. 

Unsure of what words to use, or how to react, Marinette pulled her arms around her mother and hugged her.

* * *

When Marinette got back to school, she couldn't help but stop thinking about her poor little sister. 

Was her mother still unable to bond with her? If anything, she probably should've been the one to start taking care of her right away. If she would've been the first one to comfort her and make her feel safe in Paris, Camille might've been able to build a stronger connection with her mom.

What was she supposed to do when she left for college next year? Of course she knew being Ladybug was the main concern in this question beforehand, but now she was also worried about Camille. Her parents barely knew how to connect with her so far and to think of leaving her with them without her was scary. Camille would probably be terrified, and her parents might be overwhelmed. 

She sighed, settling into her desk and dropping her sack under her desk. The drainer teenager allowed her head to fall down and hit the desk.

"Everything okay, girl?" Alya asked when she finally arrived to class.

"Sure," Marinette mumbled into the wood of the desk, giving some kind of an echo effect from the empty space.

"Don't give me that crap. What's up? Is it about sunshine kid?" Alya asked, referring to Adrien by a code name to save her the embarrassment of someone else overhearing. 

"No, I just found out something about Camille," Marinette told her, sitting up her chin into her hands, "She was an accident and my mom doesn't know how to connect with her."

"Whoa, really?" Alya asked, allowing her to further explain and hopefully make herself feel better with a rant. 

"Yeah. I don't know what to do, it's like I've suddenly become a mother and I don't know if I can do it. I'd gladly take this challenge on because I care about her, but I'm scared for her. Kids who don't have a close relationship with their parents might not be as happy," she told Alya as she begin tying her loose hair into her usual pigtails. What she had just told Alya somehow made her think of Adrien, which also reminded her she was doing a project at his house later that afternoon. 

"I know how it feels to be a second mother, so if you need any help or tips, hit me up. I'm sure things will work themselves out as they're supposed to, and that she'll be fine, girl. It's kinda the same with Nora and me. My parents have busy jobs, so Nora was more like my mom at the beginning. It's kinda why she's so overprotective now. She basically considers me her daughter now. She graduated high school around the time the twins were born, so I did most of their raising," Alya explained to her, giving her a sense of comfort. 

Marinette smiled appreciatively, "Well, Nora did a great job raising you. Not to mention, you're awesome with your sisters, so I know I'll becoming to you when I need help with Camille."

Alya rolled her eyes, smiling. "Girl, you're doing amazing with Camille so far. That girl trusts you with her life, and you've definitely got the experience to take care of her. She'll turn out just as awesome as you are," she told her. 

"I hope she turns out even better," Marinette laughed. 

* * *

In the limo ride back to Adrien's house, he had managed to get Marinette to ride with him. She'd initially protested first, arguing that she was capable of pedestrian transportation and didn't want to waste his driver's gas, but he reassured her that it was no trouble whatsoever. 

Marinette was still rather embarrassed about the whole ordeal, especially the part where she broke down crying in front of him. Not to mention, she ignored him the entire day, so it was already pretty weird of her so the last thing she really wanted to do was to make awkward small talk in a limo ride she hardly felt she deserved. As much as he tried to tell her it wasn't a big deal, she couldn't help but worry he felt violated and stalked after discovering her schedule. It saddened her that she destroyed this friendship she'd finally built with him over a dumb poster she had intended to hide, and it hurt that she couldn't find it within her to even act normal.

 

It was obvious that she couldn't hide her sadness to Adrien, and he did his best to lighten the mood. "After all our hard work on this project, I'd consider it a shame if we get anything less than a perfect score. With your awesome research, and my endless distracting you while you work, it's practically inevitable that we're getting an A+."

Marinette cracked a small smile at him, forcing a little laugh. "You did a majority of the wording, so you weren't distracting me."

"Oh please! I sat on my butt and talked about everything but the project while you worked your head off! If anything, our A+ will be because of you and your intelligence," Adrien patted her elbow as he laughed. He watched with amusement as her shyness faded with a defensive frown that contained a joking smile. 

"You bet! No, but you actually helped me a lot, Adrien. It's because of your helping with wording that it won't sound like a stuttery Marinette original story," she told him, giggling. 

"But those are so cute! Wow, I guess I messed up the project so we won't get extra credit," Adrien exaggeratedly huffed, crossing his arms sarcastically. 

Cute?! What in the world did he just say?! 

Both Marinette and Adrien wondered the same thing, although no awkward tension resulted of it. 

Marinette wanted to burst into a billion smiles, and Adrien wanted to hit himself over the face with a brick for probably making her feel uncomfortable.

"I'm pretty sure you saved our grade from the markdowns we would've gotten as a result of the 'cuteness,'" Marinette replied with a laugh. 

"I'm sure the teacher would appreciate it more than a boring old English language," Adrien told her, causing her to roll her eyes and snort in such a familiar way.

Once they arrived to his house, Adrien was a little uncomfortable to see his father was already standing in the main entrance with that... specific stance. It always meant something, and that something was never usually a good thing. Sometimes, it led to punishments like getting locked in his room, getting his phone privileges taken away, or even getting yelled at. 

Glancing over at Marinette, she appeared okay. Probably just a bit nervous she was meeting her fashion idol again, but mostly okay. He hoped with everything within him that his father wouldn't send her on her way and make them collaborate over the phone like he usually did whenever his friends were hanging out. 

They approached the door as they followed his bodyguard, which caused Gabriel to turn around. "Hello again, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I assume you are the partner Adrien was referring to when he was speaking of this group project."

Marinette felt herself grow a little more defensive as she remembered how he had caused Adrien to feel. Instead of being shy, she felt herself turn... more like Ladybug. 

"Hello, Mr. Agreste. I am his partner for this project," she confirmed confidently, glancing at Adrien to see him looking back at her with an emotion she couldn't quite read or identify. 

"So I assume it was my son who pushed you into keeping him all afternoon," Gabriel's eyebrow rose.

Oh— snap. He just... blamed his own son in front of a friend. That was pretty uncalled for. Marinette stepped in front of Adrien, almost defensively.

"He actually didn't push me into anything. My family honestly didn't mind having him as a guest for that long, considering how nice of a kid he is," she told him, but felt alarms begin blaring in her head. 

This felt like something she shouldn't be saying to an adult, disrespecting authority and all. Well, technically she wasn't being disrespectful, but they both had a good understanding of what was happening, and the tones made a good indication if the words didn't reflect it. 

"Well, I apologize for my son intruding on your family for so long. He was supposed to report to his photo shoots all afternoon, but he ditched every single one of them to go to your house," Gabriel turned away, as if he were going to leave. 

Marinette felt her heart beat more quickly as she came to the realization that he had actually disobeyed his father without telling him to work with her, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, on a project. She turned to look at Adrien, who was staring at the floor, unsure of what else to say. 

"He wasn't an intrusion at all. In fact, we welcome him home anytime he feels like it," Marinette felt the words come up in that same, Ladybug-like tone before she could think. She watched the slender man stop walking once she said that. 

Gabriel gave her a small nod before continuing on to go back to his office. 

For a few moments, her words hung in the empty, cold air from the open door of the mansion. Was that even appropriate? Should she even care? 

Adrien was the most caring, kind boy and to even imagine having to talk like this with his only parental figure was stomach-twisting. Marinette frowned, then turned back to Adrien. 

"You ready to go?" Adrien asked quietly, his eyes still trained on the floor. It was practically how he had to be everyday whenever he was dealing with his father, and the behavior he usually held at school seemed to have fallen the moment they saw him. 

"Yeah," she replied, stepping back to let him take the lead. 

The two went into the mansion, which suddenly seemed so much colder than outside. Marinette wished she had brought a jacket. Maybe it was the emotional environment as well. 

His room was so big, which she had already seen a few times as Ladybug but never as Marinette. "Whoa," she commented in awe of how big it was.

Adrien turned at her with a kind smile, "Well, this is my room," as he closed the door. 

Pretending she had never seen it before, she exclaimed, "It's awesome! I wish I had a skate ramp in my room! I can't skate though, so that might be a little useless? I would probably learn how to skate just for a ramp though."

Adrien laughed at her small rant, seeing as she had lightened up a lot since earlier that day. "I wish I knew how to skate too. It would give that ramp a lot more utility," he admitted, picking up a skateboard that was shoved under the desk.

"Oh my, you have a skateboard too! That's it. I'm quitting this project and we're going to research how skating is done," Marinette threw her hands to the side, pantomiming pushing something away.

Adrien appreciated her joking, and played along laughingly. "Who needs a report when we can learn how to use a skateboard? Not us apparently."

Rolling her eyes, she threw a hand back. "Nah!"

After that small playful conversation, they had actually gotten back to work on their project. It wasn't exactly easy to get to it and actually focus, but the pair had managed to force themselves back into their school mindsets. 

It was only an hour later that they had actually completed their work and printed it. 

As relieved as they were to get the thing over with, Adrien wasn't too excited for Marinette to go home. He really enjoyed her company and personality warming his cold room, and he wasn't exactly ready to say goodbye just yet. 

"Well, at least that's over," Marinette said as she neatly tucked the printed papers into her folder before slipping it into her backpack. 

"It is! So... should we actually look into researching how to skateboard now that there's nothing really left to do?" Adrien suggested, albeit rather nervously. 

Oh, that sounded like fun! Of course, she had initially suggested it to begin with, but doing anything with Adrien was a dream. Especially since he was suggesting it seriously, she had wanted to do it. 

Did she really have to go home and take care of her little sister now? 

Marinette really wanted to stay with Adrien, and her heart was begging for it. Still, there was that reminder in her brain, as well as a part of her heart letting her remember that Camille wasn't super comfortable without her at home. 

But Adrien... 

Dang it. 

Her head won the argument, and there was just too much responsibility in it. If her mom couldn't bond with her own daughter, and Camille was scared and anxious without her around, she had to be there for her as her older sister. It was a new duty she was stuck with, and with time she hoped Camille and her mother would eventually be able to bond easily. 

Still, looking Adrien in the eyes with all that hope and excitement, her heart screamed at her not to turn him down. This might be one of her last opportunities to hang out with Adrien and get closer to him, and she really wanted to do that. 

Was it such a crime to want to listen to her heart and follow her desire for love? 

Apparently, if it involved a small child getting emotionally neglected because of this decision, it did. 

It burned her voice to reply, but she did.

"I actually have to get home now. I've got to take care of my sister and help her adjust. Can we do that next time? It would be fun!" Marinette forced herself to decline his immediate offer through a partially gritted smile. She widened her eyes as she thought of something. "What if you learn first, then next time we hang out, you can show me how to do it like a professional!" 

Adrien felt himself sadden that she was leaving already, and he had wished he had distracted her a little more while they worked. At least that way, he could've kept her around a little longer.

"That sounds great! Let's partner up again on the next project so we could have the chance to do it!" Adrien suggested. 

Marinette smiled excitedly, nodding. 

He walked her out of the mansion, and offered a ride home, but she politely declined. Before they departed, Marinette felt the urge to hug him.

Instead of that, she felt herself pull upward with a hand over his arm to give herself a boost, planting a kiss over his cheek. 

Just as she had done as a fourteen year old that one time when Adrien left the class picnic. 

Blushing a little, the boy pulled her into a hug and with slightly trembling arms, Marinette moved her hand away from his arm and used both to return his hug. 

For a good moment, they embraced one another tightly. Marinette's heart was throwing her chest forward and back, and it almost made her forget how to breathe. 

"Well, I'll see you later then," she told him as they reluctantly pulled apart. 

"Yeah! I'll see you tomorrow."

Turning back around, Adrien went into his mansion once again. His father had met him again, still in that... way. 

"Adrien, you are not to use these group projects as an excuse to mess around. The ramp in your room is for your own entertainment only, and is only to be used by you under the supervision of either Nathalie or your bodyguard," he told him strictly, using a scolding tone in his voice that made Adrien want to flinch back a little, "Do you understand me? You didn't go to school to play these games."

Oh no, did his father overhear their talk about it? 

"Yes Father," Adrien replied respectfully, holding his gaze to the floor again. 

"Return to your room. Now."

This was basically his way of confining Adrien to his room... again. He saw Nathalie glance down as she walked up behind him, knowing that she was assigned to watch his door again. 

Glancing back at his father, Adrien felt his heart fall. His mother never would've let this happen. This mansion wouldn't ever be like this. 

But she was gone. 

And this house was always going to reflect it.


	14. Chapter 14

"Mari! You're home!" Camille squealed excitedly, running to the door as soon as she stepped through. She wrapped her small arms around her waist to greet her.

"I am! What have you been up to?" Marinette asked, hugging her back. She closed the door behind her.

"I did work like you do for Mrs. Menleaf except for my school with Mrs. Tyer. I want to go to your school again!" Camille decided, grabbing ahold of the material in Marinette's shorts.

"Why? My school is way more boring than yours! You'd have a lot more fun with Mrs. Tylure's class! She's a nice teacher, right?" Marinette asked her, walking over to the couch with her. 

"Yeah... but I don't like getting scared. Kids called me a football head and a boy and throwed stuff at my head," Camille told her, still clinging to her. 

Frowning, Marinette pulled her up to sit beside her and check her head for bruises. "The other kids were mean to you?" She asked, "What kind of things did they throw at you?" 

As she examined her head, Marinette was sad to see that Camille was still completely hairless on the head without even a bit of fuzz. It was smooth as it was the day that dang barber shaved her completely bald. Her hair didn't grow a millimeter. 

"Yeah. They threw balls at my head when we had to play sport stuff, and threw paper balls at me when we were in the classroom," Camille explained, lowering her head shamefully. 

Looking up at her while her head was still lowered, the girl sadly asked, "Is my hair gonna come back or am I gonna be bald forever? Mari, I don't want to be bald forever!" 

"That was very mean of them. I'm going to talk to your teacher tomorrow about those kids so they don't bother you again! As for your hair, it will come back! It will take some time, but you won't be bald forever. Besides, being bald makes you look fierce."

"Fierce?" Camille repeated questioningly, tilting her head a little. She wasn't exactly sure what the word meant, but Marinette seemed happy about it. It must be a good thing then, she concluded.

"Heck yeah, Camille! Fierce means powerful and strong," Marinette explained, offering a cheerful smile.

Camille paused in thought for a moment, then smiled a little in return. "More than Ladybug?" She asked, feeling some excitement toward the idea. 

Letting a laugh escape her, Marinette nodded. "She'd definitely say so."

The girl's smile widened into a toothy grin, "Really?! Mari, when can you take me to meet her?"

Oh dang. 

She still wanted to do that. 

Marinette struggled to find a response, tapping her fingers on each other. She obviously wasn't supposed to leave her sister with other people, so asking Alya to take her to see Ladybug might be a bit of a far idea. 

Wait! Instead of taking her to Ladybug... what if Ladybug came to her? It might not be a bad idea.

It could be set up like a random room visit, considering Marinette did have a roof access in the room she was sharing with her sister now. It was apparent that Tikki would kick her butt for unnecessary transformation, but if it was something she could do to cheer up her little sister, she'd give it a try. 

"Ladybug makes random house visits, so maybe she'll be coming by soon," Marinette told her.

The girl widened her eyes and squeezed her fists closed with excitement. "Really?! Can you ask her to come here today?"

Today? As much as she wanted to, she preferred to wait until her parents were out of the house to do it. It would be a little weird or suspicious to have a well-known superhero randomly pop in through Marinette's room while Marinette was "gone." She knew it was likely that Camille would run to get her parents excitedly if her favorite superhero dropped in without warning. 

"I... can't exactly talk to her, but I'm sure she can come by one of these days! Who knows when it'll be?" Marinette shrugged stiffly, laughing in awkwardness. She was still terrible at lying, and maybe it was because of how badly she hated dodging the truth.

It wasn't until a few days later that Camille would find herself face to face with Ladybug in the costume herself when an akuma attack hit the city again.

Marinette was stuck in a situation.

What was she supposed to do now?! Anyone who could watch Camille was either busy or caught up in the attack, so what were her choices?

She had to think fast, seeing as Chat Noir has already been caught by the akuma and was on the verge of having his Miraculous stolen. 

"Dang it! Camille, hold my hand," Marinette said, and heard her kwami let out a small gasp. 

"Crap! Marinette!" Tikki whispered quietly, yet angrily.

Camille frowned in confusion at her sister's request, but followed direction anyway.

"Spots on," she whispered barely enough for her kwami to hear. 

Glancing down, she noticed Camille was included in her transformation, which included a small mask like her own, and a small dress with the same pattern, plus it included a hood. Also she was surprised to see that a wig in her hair color came with it! Her own transformation was exactly the same, but with an extra object on her waist. It was some kind of umbrella?

Camille's mouth fell open at the sight of her sister— no, Ladybug— or her sister? Was Marinette even really her sister? Or was this a Ladybug plan... being her sister to protect her from an akuma...?

"Okay, so... I'm Ladybug. This is going to be our secret, okay?" Ladybug told her. She then held out her pinkie quickly, "Pinkie promise that you never tell anyone that I'm Ladybug?"

"Okay," Camille timidly locked pinkies with the superhero. She looked down in surprise at her outfit change. Also, did she just grow hair?

Ladybug hoisted her up with one arm, then slipped out the window. "What do you want your superhero name to be, just in case Chat Noir asks?" 

Camille thought for a moment, distracted from the fact that she was flying out a window with Ladybug. "Uhh... Small Ladybug?" She said aloud, then shook her head. 

Ladybug thought for a moment, trying to figure out a name for her as well. 

"Little Bug?" Camille suggested, then looked up for her approval. 

"Little Bug sounds awesome!" She complimented, swinging them up to a roof where she saw her partner fighting a... water akuma? 

He seemed to trap people in water bubbles shaped like tears. Ladybug stood from a distance, then looked at the child she was responsible for. What the heck was she supposed to do? 

Grabbing the new umbrella object in her transformation, it seemed to be really sturdy when she opened it up. It must've been a shield. 

"Hey, do you want to try something cool?" Ladybug asked, putting Camille down. "If that weird water guy tries to spray you, use this to protect you!" She handed her the red, sturdy umbrella. 

"Okay!" Camille replied, taking it from her. 

"I'm going to fight over there, so stay here and guard the people stuck in water over here," Ladybug assigned her a small task as quickly as she could. 

After, she ran up to the tear-shaped bubble of water with her partner in it and reached in. Somehow, he seemed to be frozen inside of it, but she could pull him out. Yanking the cat out, he coughed up water when he fell. 

She then went off to face the akuma herself with her partner. 

Camille seemed to take notice of what she did. Looking around at the people stuck, she tried to reach in, but they were a bit too far considering how short she was. 

Looking down at her umbrella, she saw there was a hook-like handle she could use to wrap around the victim's ankles or something. She attempted it, and successfully hooked the trapped man's foot. Camille pulled as hard as she could, and he fell out of the water bubble, coughing and gasping for breath. 

She could help Ladybug and Chat Noir now! 

She continued to pull people out of their bubbles with the umbrella hook, helpfully releasing the victims as her older sister fought off the villain. 

Alya fell out of a bubble after Camille pulled her out of it, and was obviously surprised by the younger-looking version of Ladybug. Was this her? Or maybe a daughter?

Meanwhile, when the fight ended with Ladybug returning the Lucky Charm, it was safe to say that everyone was extremely curious about her little helper. 

"Nice to meet you, Miss! What might your name be?" Chat Noir asked after doing his traditional celebratory fist-bump with Ladybug. He included the younger girl in the fist-bump as well.

"Yes, Paris is crazy to know who might be assisting Ladybug now!" Alya added curiously. Camille waved at her a little, already knowing her.

Camille shyly found her way to Ladybug, slightly hiding behind her. "I'm... Little Bug," she said softly, looking up at Chat Noir from behind her older sister. 

"Little Bug? That's a great name!" He repeated. 

Camille smiled as politely as she could, but quickly buried her face into Ladybug's side. She knew her little sister wasn't comfortable in the public eye, seeing as she preferred to hide while the cameras and crowds were around.

From there, Marinette decided she wouldn't bring Camille to any fights unless it was necessary. It wasn't safe to expose her to the dangers of akuma villains and Hawkmoth.


	15. Chapter 15

After the sisters de-transformed in Marinette's room, Camille felt her head. Realizing the hair was gone again, she puffed her cheeks up and let herself flop forward on her older sister's bed dramatically. 

"Hey Camille! I have someone special I want you to meet," Marinette tried to peak her interest and hopefully cheer her up, "She's our secret friend, so you'll have to make sure you don't tell anyone about her."

Camille turned her head towards her, still flopped on her stomach on the bed. "Secret?" She asked, her eyes widening a little. 

Marinette smiled and nodded her head. She waved her over and opened her purse. 

Curiously, the smaller girl crawled over to her. "Where is she?" 

"Tikki, you can come out now," the older girl suggested, widening the opening of her coin purse. 

The kwami flew out, still turning to Marinette with a glare for revealing her identity. Turning around, she smiled at the young girl. "Hello there! My name is Tikki! You're Camille, right?" 

Camille nodded shyly, a hand lightly clutching at the bottom of Marinette's oversized shirt. 

"I'm the one who helps Marinette turn into Ladybug, and I also helped give you a costume too! Did you like it?" Tikki asked in a sweet voice.

Looking up at Marinette, she offered a gentle smile of encouragement and a nod. Camille then nodded again. "Yeah. Did you give me hair?" She asked quietly.

"I gave you a wig so you can disguise yourself more easily!" Tikki told her. 

Camille then looked at Marinette again. "Can we buy hair?" 

Oh, wigs existed. 

Marinette honestly wanted to kick herself for not thinking of this sooner. It was literally the most simple solution to this little issue, and yet the thought of wigs hadn't even crossed her mind. 

"Yes."

* * * 

"Tikki, what kind of magic hair is this wig made of to cost an actual arm and a leg?!" Marinette screeched as she browsed the internet. 

After having measured Camille's scalp, she was able to find some matching results online. However, the one that actually resembled Camille's old hair happened to be very overpriced. Unless the girl wanted to be a blonde or a brunette, Marinette wasn't going to be able to afford a wig for her little sister. 

"I'm not sure! It must be some really good quality material! It even says it's breathable so that her head won't sweat in warm weather," Tikki pointed out. 

She'd take more shifts at the bakery, but she worked for free. Whatever was earned was paid towards the mortgage or bills, so that wasn't an option.

"Gosh, it's perfect for her! Maybe if I can get some more babysitting shifts for Manon- or a second job? Or maybe my parents can help pitch in a little?" Marinette suggested optimistically, her spirit picking up at the idea. 

"Those are good ideas, Marinette!! Don't forget to do your homework though! You've got another essay due in two days," Tikki reminded her. 

Not to mention, Adrien's 18th birthday was tomorrow, so she still had to finish the gift for him and attend the get-together Nino was throwing for him. 

"Eww, I've got to get that done tonight- and Adrien's present! Or maybe I can do the essay all of tomorrow night and pull an all-nighter. I could probably start it today after I get that shirt made for Adrien," Marinette tried to plan out. She'd definitely end up losing sleep no matter what she did, so it was significant that she'd waste no time. 

Tikki frowned with concern for her holder. "Marinette, you need rest! Remember what I said about making sure you have enough energy just in case a transformation is needed? The consequences to that could be lethal! If you don't have enough time for everything, you need to prioritize correctly."

Marinette groaned, pulling her hands over her face before dropping it on the desk. "Tikki, literally everything is incredibly important! Sleep is the least of my problems right now, and I'll do my best to take short naps if I need them. I have to make sure I can make that shirt for Adrien's birthday, write that essay, and go to his party tomorrow! It's a miracle his father even allowed Adrien to have one! Actually he is turning eighteen, so that does sort of make sense..." 

"Try to get as much done today as you can, but if it comes down to losing sleep and not enough time for any other commitments, you might have to take a rain check on something," Tikki advised, sitting on the desk and moving the strands of hair from her holder's face behind her ear while the teenage girl whimpered dramatically in response. 

"I can't take a rain check on an essay. It would be so mean to show up to Adrien's party without a present, so I- can't do that. I can't cancel on Adrien's party either! He said he was looking forward to seeing me there, and I don't want him to think I'm a flake or still upset with him by not going," Marinette explained, picking her head back up to look at the kwami. 

Reading her expression, Marinette knew dropping Adrien's party was the most realistic scenario. She didn't want to do that to him! 

"Oh Marinette... Let's get that essay started right now," Tikki advised, offering a comforting smile. 

"I should've done it earlier! It's supposed to be eight pages long, and so far I've done zero of them. If I would've done it earlier, I could've just made Adrien's present right now without this whole issue," she realized, wanting to bang her head on the desk.

The girl turned around at the soft knocking on the trap door, to which Tikki instinctively hid. She slipped between two different stacks of books. 

Marinette opened the door, only to see Camille. She offered a hand to help pull her up into her room. 

"Hi Mari. I got hungry and the bake- uh, they said that you can make something for me," Camille struggled on what to call the bakery people downstairs. She knew they were her parents, but she didn't feel comfortable calling them as so yet. She didn't know them very well, and if she had the choice, she'd rather call Mari her mommy. 

Tikki came out of the hiding spot, knowing it was just Camille. She knew the teenager was in agony, so maybe she could help make something for the younger girl. Besides, she'd seen Marinette easily make noodles for the girl before, so she was convinced she could at least do that for her while she began her essay. 

"I'll make you something, Camille!" Tikki offered, then turned to her surprised owner with assurance, "I've got this, Marinette! You start your homework, and I'll get Camille some food."

Marinette frowned, unsure if this could end well. What if Tikki burned the pots, or accidentally set the kitchen on fire? What if she gave the girl food that wasn't properly cooked, leading to food poisoning and vomiting? 

"I can-"

Tikki snapped up in her face, not wanting to take another unnecessary second of precious time for granted. She wanted to see her holder happy, and in order to achieve that, she had to help her. "No, you can't do anything but get that homework done if you want a single chance at starting on Adrien's present!" 

Before she could argue back, Tikki led her holder's little sister out the trap door. "Come on, Camille. Let's get you some food!" 

Well, that was nice of her. That was kind of scary and out of character for Tikki's usually patient, kind personality, but really thoughtful nevertheless. 

She switched the tabs on her computer from the wig site to a document to begin her essay on. 

Gosh, this was going to be hard and tedious. It had to be done quickly and efficiently.

* * *

"Okay, where are the noodles Marinette bought last time?" Tikki asked once they made it to the kitchen. 

"The soggy ones? The bakery people threw them out because they're full of bad things that make people sick," Camille told her truthfully, remembering how offended Tom was to find them in his cabinet. She liked his cooking a lot! He gave her really good spaghetti. "Can I have sphetti?" 

"Spaghetti?" Tikki hummed in thought as she searched the cabinets for spaghetti mix or whatever was used to make it. 

Aha! There was something there. It was dry and hard, but she had to read the instructions on the back. "I'm going to make you some spaghetti!" She announced. 

"Yay!" 

It didn't have all the instructions, so she had to use Marinette's phone to quickly access them online. The kwami slipped into her room, and swiftly swiped the phone. 

She was using her earphones on the computer, likely for blasting motivational music while she viciously typed away at her essay. 

A quarter of a page, Tikki noticed. She was making progress. 

"I'm using your phone for a moment," Tikki told her, then carried it out of her room after somehow lifting the trap door with one arm. 

She dropped it on the first step, then phased herself through the door. Tikki picked it back up and placed it down on the counter beside Camille, who couldn't read yet. 

Already knowing the phone password, the kwami got in and searched up how to make spaghetti. Once she got a solid step-by-step recipe, she began.

First she dragged a heavy pot over the stove, then lugged a water bottle over to fill the pot with water. With some help from Camille, the bottle was opened and poured into the pot while the stove was off. 

Then she had her back off when she turned the stove on for safety precaution. When the water was boiled after a few minutes, she dropped hard, uncooked spaghetti into it. 

From the refrigerator, Tikki took a big breath before lifting the disgustingly heavy jar of pre-made sauce. Once it was opened with Camille's help again, Tikki took it upon herself to dump the whole thing into the big pot, which sadly resulted in the glass jar also falling into the mix. Unfortunately, there was a burning splash from the drop, so Tikki quickly flirted out of the way before it hit her. 

"Are you okay?" Camille asked as the frantic kwami used a wooden cooking spoon way too large for her size to try and fish the jar from the mix. 

"Yes! Don't worry about it," Tikki reassured, but the dang glass jar was too heavy for the spoon. 

Maybe... she could use the spoon like a fulcrum lever and the side of the pot like a pivot point. 

Asking Camille to go to next room to prevent any injury during this crazy activity, Tikki set the middle of the wooden spoon on a side of the pot, and caught the inside of the glass jar on the spoon. Looking around for a heavy object, she pulled a banana into her arms, then used all her force to plunge down on the side of the spoon on the exterior of the pot. 

In effect, there was a good thing and a bad thing that resulted. 

The good thing was that she successfully got the glass jar out of the boiling pot of spaghetti, water, and sauce. 

The bad thing was that the jar launched across the kitchen and smashed to pieces once it had hit the cabinet on the opposite side of the kitchen. Not to mention, there was a bit of a polka dot situation in which red splotches of sauce landed in different areas of the kitchen. 

"Camille, don't come into the kitchen! There's broken glass on the floor and you'll cut your feet!" Tikki flitted over to the young girl in the living room to warn her.

When she heard the hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, Tikki knew she'd messed up badly. Hiding behind a pillow, Camille glanced there in confusion. She'd turned when she heard her mom practically throw the door open in worry. 

"Are you okay? What happened?" Sabine asked, having heard the glass breaking. 

Knowing she wasn't allowed to mention the kwami, Camille wasn't sure what to say in response. She stuttered out something incoherent that made no sense, but the woman walked into the kitchen. 

There was an unattended boiling pot of pasta, broken glass on the floor, and sauce all over the kitchen. Did Marinette leave this mess? With her phone beside the pot, it couldn't have been anyone else. 

"Stay out of the kitchen. There's glass and it could hurt you," she warned the young girl, turning off the stove. Sabine quickly climbed the stairs, seeing that Marinette closed the trap door. Throwing it open, she climbed up to see her daughter, that was supposed to be making food for her sister, on the internet with her earphones in. 

"Marinette, why weren't you downstairs while you had the food cooking?!" She asked, but the girl hadn't replied, or even noticed her mom was in the room. 

Pulling an earphone from her ear, Marinette jumped at the sudden contact. "Oh, Mom!" 

"Did you leave broken glass downstairs?! Don't you know how dangerous that is for a young girl? You also left the stove on while you were up here, with earphones and the door closed! You could've burned the house down!" Sabine scolded Marinette. 

Oh, Tikki must've accidentally dropped something. 

"I thought you were more responsible, Marinette. First it was lying to me and sneaking out, then it was leaving your little sister alone while other kids were cutting her hair, then it's this? What's going on?" 

"Mom... I-" Marinette wanted to protest, but there was no way around it. 

"I'm sorry, but this has gone too far. Tomorrow you'll have to come straight home after school. Well, pick up Camille, then come straight home," Sabine grounded her daughter. 

"Mom, Adrien's birthday party is tomorrow and I have to give him his present-" 

"I'm afraid you'll have to give it to him during class. I'm sorry, but you're grounded. Please go clean up the kitchen," Sabine told her, shaking her head in disappointment. It pained her to make her daughter unhappy, but she had to discipline her.

Marinette nodded, hanging her head. 

Oh wait, she had to ask her about Camille's wig! 

"Wait Mom!" She stopped her before leaving. "I know this is off-topic, but... I realized we could do something about Camille. She's too scared to go to school again without hair, so I was thinking we could get her a wig. I found one that looked exactly like her hair, but it was pretty expensive."

Sabine paused, and couldn't help but smile at how caring Marinette was. 

"I'll see what we can do. Send me the link," she told her. 

Marinette nodded and reached for her phone as her mother left the room. Where was it?


	16. Chapter 16

Camille and Tikki heard the whole exchange, and weren't sure what to do. 

Tikki felt so bad about the whole ordeal. It was her fault entirely for this mess. She didn't want Marinette to worry about this small task, and yet it ended up costing the girl something that was so incredibly important to her. How could she make this up to her now?

Camille heard how sad her sister was when she was told that she wasn't going to be able to go to her husband's birthday party. This wasn't supposed to happen. She couldn't tell the truth about what happened because then she'd break her promise with Marinette about keeping the Ladybug a secret. 

As the bakery woman was coming down from her room and out of the kitchen, she asked her, "So you wanted a wig?"

Camille nodded, still feeling shy about her appearance.

"Okay!" Sabine told her with a smile.

Mari told her about it. She had to help her big sister be happy, just like she did for her. 

"Wait! It- That wasn't Mari."

Marinette climbed down from her room, and widened her eyes at the young girl, shaking her head. Just as she was about to say something, Camille cut her off. 

"I did it! I used Mari's phone and I didn't tell her I was hungry. I tried to make food by myself and didn't tell her and I made a mess," Camille lied.

"Camille-" Marinette tried to intervene, but once again, she cut her off. Was she ever going to be able to say anything today? 

"I dropped the jar and used the kitchen with no adult," the younger girl told her mom. 

Well in that case, Sabine thought, Marinette was no longer grounded. 

"Marinette, I'm sorry I accused you," she apologized to her daughter, who picked up a broom with a nervous smile. She began sweeping the floor of the glass.

"Camille, thank you for telling me the truth. It's very important to speak up when you make a mistake. However, you should've asked Marinette help when you needed her to make you food. It could've been dangerous to use the stove by yourself. I'm afraid I have to ground you."

"Are you going to make me lay on the ground?" Camille asked shyly, wanting to run to Marinette, but there was glass on the floor and she wasn't wearing shoes.

"No sweetie," Sabine laughed, "It just means I have to give you a small punishment since you did something that wasn't a very good idea." 

"What is my punishment?" Camille asked. 

Sabine thought for a moment. She really didn't have much to punish her with. 

"I won't be getting you the wig very soon."

Camille's eyes widened, and she almost wanted to go hide again. She wanted her grandma's warm hugs and kisses for reassurance, but she didn't know where she even was.

"When can we see Grandma?" 

Sabine looked at Marinette, who looked back at her with a cringe. What? She couldn't just tell the poor, scared girl that her grandma wasn't alive anymore.

"Uh... We'll have a talk about that later, sweetie," her mother said, knowing she'd have to have this talk eventually. 

Camille nodded, sitting back down on the couch as the bakery woman left back downstairs to the bakery. 

Once the door closed, Marinette walked over to sit beside Camille. 

"You didn't have to lie for me," she told her, although the smile on her face was so genuine and thankful. 

"I don't want you to miss your husband's party," Camille said, feeling a little happier that she helped Marinette. 

This girl was sweeter than all the sugar in the bakery, and Marinette just wanted to squeeze her into a tight hug. 

"Don't worry about your wig, okay? I'll get you a really nice one when I save up enough money. It might not be too soon, but I'll work as hard as I can to buy you one," Marinette promised, growing determined to do whatever it'd take. 

"Thank you," Camille smiled at her, although her eyes were beginning to water. She turned away before she could notice.

"Oh my gosh, I am so so sorry, both of you! Marinette, I'm going to let you do the cooking from now on. I accidentally dropped the jar into the boiling water and sauce, and getting it out ended up being way messier than I thought, and I'm so sorry I got you both in trouble!" Tikki flew out from behind her pillow, burying them both in apologies.

"Don't worry about it, Tikki. It was my fault that I got in this position to begin with, and I should've taken charge to do the cooking," Marinette took the blame. 

Looking at Camille, she told her, "Hey, what you did was very hero-like. You're not in trouble at all. I'm in charge of you, and I'm not giving you any punishments. I'm so proud of you, but you never have to do that again for me. I can take the punishments. You're a really brave girl."

Still, she didn't look at her. She quietly thanked her, but was turned away almost sadly. 

"What's wrong? I can tell Maman that you were just trying to cover for me and you'll probably get that wig even sooner!" Marinette asked her, trying to cheer her up. She felt bad that Camille took the fall, and it was supposed her responsibility as a hero with several things to balance to deal with it. 

"No! You have to go to Adwin's party!" Camille quickly replied, tears beginning to fall. 

"It's okay if I don't," Marinette told her, although it was killing her to say it. She admitted, "Your happiness is more important!" 

"I'm not sad because of that. I want you to go to Adwin's party," she told her with a trembling voice. It broke when she confessed, "I wanna see Grandma again. I miss her." 

This was something she couldn't fix, as much as she wanted to. Marinette couldn't even reassure her that she would see her again. The woman who took care of her and raised her was gone forever. She couldn't bring her back, or just go take Camille to visit her. 

She didn't even know how the poor child found out she wasn't going to live with her anymore. The death was so sudden and unexpected. She probably never even got to say goodbye. 

Wiping away her tears with her thumbs, Marinette pulled Camille into a tight hug to comfort her as best as she could. 

"You know what would probably be really good right now?" Marinette asked, still gently squeezing her. "Spaghetti."

Camille giggled a little, sniffling away some tears, "Yeah."

"I'm going to finish that for you," she decided, then asked as she picked up the remote, "Do you want to watch some cartoons while you wait?" 

"Uh-huh," She nodded. 

After quickly cleaning the kitchen up and getting all the glass swept up, she quickly finished up the recipe with Tikki's assistance of reading instructions and handing over the proper tools. 

For once, Camille was able to say that Marinette's cooking wasn't tasteless. Then again, half of it was Tikki's, so that'd have to be determined later. 

Marinette, Camille, and Tikki headed back up to the room once everything was eaten, cleaned up, and fixed. 

Tikki decided to help by entertaining Camille with the hero and villain dolls Marinette had made, while the girl focused on getting her essay done. 

Since she had done an entire page since starting, she still had seven more to go. She mentally calculated that it'd take at least 45 minutes per page, but the research and citations would take two hours and a half on their own. That would mean it would take approximately seven hours and three quarters of an hour. She was doing this at... around 6:30 in the afternoon, so she'd finish around 2 in the morning. With that, she could rush to make Adrien his shirt all night, come back to put finishing touches at lunch, then give it to him at his party. 

Unfortunately, her planning didn't exactly match up with reality, so she finished a little over half the essay at midnight. She took a break at the time then to eat a snack, then went back to work. 

Four in the morning was when she was finally done with the essay. It took thirty minutes after to proofread, then she submitted it online. 

The only problem was that she was so tired already. It was officially Adrien's birthday, and she had school in four hours. Considering she'd already designed the shirt, actually making it would take another two hours if she wanted it to be perfect. This would result in having less than two hours of sleep, which at the time sounded like an exhausting idea. 

Maybe she could use the three hours to sleep, then get that shirt made at lunch when she'd come home. 

Mentally agreeing with that idea, Marinette crawled into her bed and passed out. 

Tikki practically had to slap her to wake her up that morning, and it did not go too pleasantly. Fortunately, Camille had gotten to sleep early. The only issue was that she was not excited to go to school. Marinette could relate. 

"Mari, can I come to your class again? Please?" Camille begged, clinging to her sister's side as they walked to school. 

"As cute as my teacher thinks you are, I think she'd want you to actually learn things," Marinette told her. "I'm sure the teacher will talk to the parents of the kids who are bullying you, so you'll have a better day. I'll talk to her again to make sure she gets this handled!"

Camille slumped down and sat on the floor, making Marinette have to stop and go back a few steps. She'd been at school for almost an entire week, and she came in and out crying every single day. Camille refused to be tormented again for being bald.

"Come on, you'll like it much better today!" She tried to coax her to get up. 

"I thought you said yesterday that I wasn't going to be punished," Camille whined, crossing her arms stubbornly. 

"You're not being punished. School is a fun place!" Marinette tried to convince her, but from the look she received, it wasn't working. "Okay. Maybe school isn't fun, but guess what? It's Friday!"

Camille looked at her, confused as to why that was so exciting. "Okay. I still don't want to go," she told her.

"Saturday and Sunday, we don't have any school! It's two days off!" Marinette tried to pump the positive energy, although she was pretty drained from that terrible essay the night before. 

"Can I not go today so it's three days off?" Camille begged, growing a little more frantic, "I really don't want to go! I wanna be in class with you please!" 

Marinette felt so bad about it, but she wasn't allowed to just not bring her to school. Her mother would give her a real reason to be grounded. "I'll pick you up after school, and you'll be home again! I just have to make Adrien a present, go to his party, then we can have fun all weekend!" 

Picking her up off the ground, she lifted her into her arms again to which she hid her face in Marinette's shoulder again. Camille really wished she had hair again. In class, whenever they had to draw, she still drew hair on herself because she kept forgetting that she didn't have any. Mirrors always made her want to cry, and sometimes they did. 

When they arrived to her class, Camille bursted into tears again, clinging to Marinette. "Please don't leave me here!!" She pleaded, hugging her side as tight as she could. 

"I'm not leaving you here, Camille. I'm coming back at the end of the day to get you, which won't be too far away," Marinette promised, giving her a reassuring hug. 

"Grandma forgot to pick me up from daycare! Please don't forget, Mari! I don't want to be put in another place again!" 

Was that... how she found out? 

So did that mean that Camille was at daycare, waiting to be picked up when their grandmother passed away, and never got picked up? Did she associate being away from home in an environment alone with how she was moved to France after her grandmother died? 

"I won't forget, Camille. I promise! You know what, I'm going to make a more serious promise," Marinette held out her pinkie for her. Camille did the same, sniffling, as they locked pinkies. 

"I pinkie promise I'll pick you up from school every single day, and you won't be sent anywhere else," Marinette swore.

Hesitantly, Camille agreed to stay at school until she was picked up. She wasn't too pleased about it, but Marinette promised to go get her.

She had to trust her. 

* * *

Finally, she was able to drop that cheerful front she put on to encourage her little sister to get to school. Completely drained of energy and emotion, Marinette half heartedly made her way to her own school. Three years ago, she was squealing and jumping with joy on this day. She remembered being so excited for her crush's birthday, having the present prepared far in advance and the enthusiasm the moment she woke up. 

As of today, she was already late and the panicked feeling she used to have during this situation didn't set in at all. Instead, she used the will of being able to wish her crush a happy birthday as a motivational push to get there from the distance. 

"Marinette, have you seen the time?!" Tikki asked the exhausted girl. 

"No, but I know I'm already late. Why should I rush when I know it's already done?" Marinette grumbled, scrubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes with her fists. 

"How long did you stay up?" Tikki questioned, looking at how red her holder's eyes were. 

"I slept three hours, but I finished and submitted the dang essay," Marinette muttered, "I still have to get Adrien's present made during lunch, then go to his party after school."

"I think you're going to need some kind of sleep today at least. You should get a power nap into your schedule," Tikki advised. 

"I'll try to take a small nap after I finish Adrien's present," Marinette assured the kwami, who seemed worried for her wellbeing. 

When the girl got to her class, she received a worried look from her best friend as she slumped into her seat quietly while the teacher was on the computer. 

"Are you good, girl?" Alya whispered, "You look you got dumped by a boyfriend, then ran over by a bus."

"Yeah, I finished that essay," she informed her. 

"The one that's due next week?" Alya confirmed. 

"No, the one that's due tomorrow."

Alya frowned, then looked back at the board. "It says on the board that it's due next week," she pointed out. 

Marinette looked, only to see that the essay she spent all night on wasn't due for another freaking week. She let her face fall on the table, causing all the things on there to bounce a little at the impact. 

Adrien glanced back at her with worry. "Are you okay, Marinette?" He asked with a whisper.

Lifting her head, she smiled and nodded. "Happy birthday," she reached a weak arm out to him and let it hang off the desk. 

"Thanks."


	17. Chapter 17

"So let me get this straight. You rushed through an entire essay in a night, nearly got grounded from going to Adrien's party, and now have to rush home to get his present done? I thought you already made like fifty something presents for his upcoming birthdays," Alya asked, patting her exhausted friend's shoulder. 

"I did, but I made those when I was fourteen! I want him to get a gift that's made with the best quality. I was okay at designing then, but I've improved so I want to get him something from the newer version of myself," Marinette explained, slumping over into her own hands.

"Well, at least you have a backup in case you don't get it done in time!" Alya reassured her.

Marinette turned to look at her with a glare, "I donated those, and I no longer have any backups! I have to get his present done today at lunch after picking up Camille, then somehow fit a nap into the schedule, and get back to school, finish the day, probably put finishing touches on his gift while doing regular homework at the same time, then run to his party, give him the gift and hope he likes it!" 

Gosh, was she stressed. At least she wouldn't have an essay to worry about next week when the pain-in-the-butt assignment was actually due, and she was both thankful and pained for that fact. She could've been working on that present all last night, then had it ready for today, but her opportunity cost had been time lost to the essay.

"Here's what we can do. What if I pick up Camille and drop her off at your house while you rush straight home to get your present done?" Alya asked her, trying to help out her obviously overwhelmed friend.

"That would make you an absolute angel of a best friend," Marinette squeezed her best friend into a relieved hug. 

"That would be correct!" Alya laughed, hugging her back.

What would she do without this fabulous person in her life? Probably suffer a painfully boring, stressful life, to answer that question. 

When they got out for lunch, Marinette bolted directly home to get a head start on her present for Adrien. The faster she started, the sooner it would be done and she'd be able to get at least five minutes of  that much-needed precious sleep she was desperately yearning for.

Yanking her sketchbook out from her backpack, she accidentally ripped one of the pages with the bad grip she had on it.

"You dumb-butt," she muttered angrily to herself as Tikki came out from her purse to see the damage. 

Luckily it hadn't been the design she needed for Adrien's present, but it had still been an important project she was planning for one of her friends. The inconvenience was enough to make the girl want to burst into tears, but she didn't have the time for it. 

"Slow down, Marinette! You're rushing, and if you continue with that messy speed—"

"I'm sorry, I can't slow down. This is going to take forever and I literally don't have a single second to waste!" Marinette complained, her voice close to breaking. 

"Don't push yourself too hard! You should at least rest a little bit or eat something before jumping right into this. You still have a test when you get back to class, and you don't want to be exhausted for it," Tikki advised, reminding her of the event.

Marinette's throat ran dry, and that lump rose up in her throat harshly. One of her glassy eyes twitched in response, and she let out a small squeak of panic. 

If she was being completely honest, the thought of doing absolutely anything at the moment other than sleeping was making her head pound with stress. She wished she could stop time and just get a moment of rest before continuing. She could just throw everything to the side and feign sickness, but... it was for Adrien's birthday, it was for her academic future, it was for her life. 

Marinette was seventeen years old. She was supposed to balance everything, and get through it like an adult. She wasn't a child anymore, and she had to get through whatever life threw at her. 

Her chest tightened painfully with tension, and her face was burning up. Her designs seemed to sway on and off the page slowly as she firmly pressed her fingers into the edges of her chair beneath her. Squeezing her watering eyes shut and holding her breath for a minute, she tried to pull it together for a moment to avoid akumatization.

Trembling a little, she nodded and pushed her gaze back to the drifting designs in her sketchbook. Marinette wearily reached out to turn to the page she needed. 

"Marinette, you shouldn't do this without resting," Tikki pleaded, "Please take a small nap or something! I'll wake you up, I promise! Just please get some sleep or a snack. You look like you're going to crash."

"It's fine, I'm okay," Marinette tried to reassure her through a soft whisper, trying to focus her weak attention back to the designs. 

Placing a determined finger on the page to catch the name of the material she planned on using for the sweater.

Scowling, Tikki flew downstairs to retrieve some sort of a good snack for her holder. 

Knowing her kwami left the room, Marinette allowed herself to collapse her head down on the desk, digging her fingernails into her hair as her head pounded with pain. A muffled sob she tried her best to contain escaped, and her chest was heaving uncontrollably. Her eyes screwed tight to avoid any tears leaking out, and they were sore from the pressure of the muscle she used to hold them. 

"Why are there so many things to do with so little time?"

"I— I can't," her voice broke, digging her fingernails further into her hair. 

"You're stressed, you're tired, and you don't have the power to go on. You have so much to do, and there's not enough time. You don't deserve to feel like this, dear."

Strained sobs escaped Marinette, and she felt so tempted to listen to whatever this was. She wanted to resist, and she wanted to use the remainder of her power to push away this voice, because she was more responsible than this. 

"Stop," the girl begged in broken sobs, crumpling into herself further, as if being smaller felt safer. 

"You're only seventeen. You're not supposed to carry so much of this heavy responsibility on your small shoulders. There's only so much a young girl can take on before she gives out."

Marinette cried out sobbing no's, trying to verbally reject it, but physically and emotionally, she didn't know if there was any strength left.

"You help everyone. You're trying to do so much for everyone, and its admiral of you. You're an everyday hero, but even the best of heroes need help sometimes. Let me do something for you. You deserve it, and I can help."

Marinette didn't know how much more resistance she could push out before her heart would yearn and pull toward the option. 

Everyday hero?

Everyday Ladybug. 

That was what Adrien called her once, and it made her heart squeeze with love. This emotional anchor almost made her give in; it felt almost as if something loving was reaching out to her, only to pull her away from all this stress, pain, and tension.  
She almost desperately wanted to accept what felt like was a hand reaching from the light to drag her out of the darkness.

But there was something telling her to open her eyes that were so tightly closed, and it almost felt too exhausting to do. The first voice was luring and gentle, almost coaxing to come to, but the second was desperate and scared. 

This voice was persistent, pleading. It was calling for her, and she didn't know where to turn throughout this empty dark place. It continued to scream for her, and it was familiar. This familiarity was one she trusted, and that voice was one she knew was in her best interest. 

Was the second one two voices?

"MARINETTE!! PLEASE, COME BACK TO US!! FIGHT IT!" 

Who was it?

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Just follow my voice and you'll get the help you deserve."

That... sounded appealing, and so comforting, but the other voices... they were familiar. She trusted them, and she had to follow what was already known to get away from this darkness.

So finally, she opened her eyes and tore away from the darkness, tethering her back to reality. Marinette gasped out, almost choking to breath as if she were just being drowned to death.

She was almost akumatized.

Breathing unevenly, terrified gasps of sobs, the room spun and blurred with faces she currently couldn't identify in this state. She whipped her head side to side in an attempt to see who was there and where she was, who those voices were.

"It's okay, Marinette! Sweetie, look at me! You're safe now, you're okay!" She felt warm arms wrap around her, and she exhaustedly collapsed into them, finally giving out.


	18. Chapter 18

Apparently Marinette forgot what a promise was. 

Camille was pretty disappointed to say the least, seeing as she promised to pick her up herself. She could've at least given her a heads-up that the glasses friend was coming instead of her. 

"Hey Camille! I'll be taking you home today," Alya waved to her, offering a kind smile. 

Camille looked around once again to make sure Marinette wasn't around. Puffing her cheeks in a slightly annoyed pout, she followed Alya out into the streets. 

"How was your day, small fry?" The teenager asked, holding her hand to ensure she wouldn't get lost. Looking at her, she noticed her glum, disappointed expression. 

"Stinky," she mumbled, a frown falling over her face. 

"What happened?" Alya questioned, mirroring the frown with concern. 

"Kids still think I'm a boy. It made me cry but now I'm just mad," Camille grumbled irritatedly, letting go of Alya's hand to cross her arms, "And Mario-net broke a pinkie promise! A pinkie promise means you can't break it, and she broke it like a meanie!" 

Alya's eyes widened at the sudden mood change in the normally shy, sweet girl, but she wasn't completely surprised of this kind of behavior in a young child. Appearances were often deceiving in children. A child who seems like an angel one day can also have the ability to still throw fits or get mad. After dealing with her younger twin sisters and helping Marinette out with babysitting Manon, she wasn't too worried about her newly directed anger. 

"Kids can be mean, trust me. A cool girl like me used to get bullied when I was younger because I was different," Alya told her, stopping their walk to crouch down to her level, "But remember, we're the good people. Good people don't do nothing. If kids are bullying you or picking on you, stand up for yourself. I know you're the coolest girl, Mari knows you're the coolest girl, but most importantly, you know that. You don't need hair to prove it."

"Yeah," Camille tore her eye contact shyly down to the ground, then asked out of curiosity, "Why were you bullied?"

Looking down at the same pebble that Camille was gently tapping away with her shoe, Alya told her, "Well, other kids used to tease me for my bigger size."

"Bigger? But tall people are lucky because they can get cookies down from the cabinet," Camille looked back at her in confusion. 

"By bigger, I mean... thicker," Alya tried to find a way to explain, "Basically I had more weight than others did." 

"Oh," Camille said, blinking at her. "But then that means you're more comfy to hug? Why did kids be mean?" 

Alya chuckled, feeling her eyes glaze over with a thin, brimming layer of tears. "You're a good kid, Camille. You've got a good heart." 

"Ladyb— Mari said that a good heart makes you a princess," Camille told her with a smile, then it fell as she remembered she was still annoyed with her older sister. "You're my new big sister."

Laughing as she stood back up, Alya patted her shoulder, "Camille, as much as I'd love to have you as a little sister, you're still related to Mari. You should forgive her."

"She's a meanie," Camille tried to remind her, but a loud ambulance that passed by them drowned out her voice.

"Huh?" Alya asked once it passed them.

"Mari is a meanie," she repeated.

"What promise did she break?" She asked her, continuing to walk forward with the girl. 

"Mari promised she'd pick me up from school every single day today and she already freaking broke it like a liar."

"First off, let's use kinder words," Alya felt herself laugh a little, knowing she used much worse language around her friends, but continued to talk to her, "Marinette was really loaded with things today. She has new homework, a really important place to go, and a thing to do before she goes there. She really wanted to go get you, but if she did, she might not have been able to finish everything on time. Marinette still cares a lot about you and didn't want to break her promise! Maybe we can forgive her?" 

Camille's tightly crossed arms fell to her sides as she looked less decisive with her choice. She did have Arwen's party today, right? She couldn't miss her husband's birthday party. That wouldn't be good. Promises weren't supposed to be forgotten and broken though. Maybe she didn't forget about her promise, but didn't want to not go to the party. It was fine, right? 

"The thing is Arwen's birthday," Camille finally spoke.

Alya slowly nodded, as she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad factor in the girl making her decision. 

"She can break her promise today," the child decided, "I forgive."

Alya smiled with relief, taking her phone out to update Marinette.

Alya: Hey girl! I picked up your little sis and we're almost to your home. So apparently Camille wasn't too pleased about your broken promise and girllll she was peeved..... 🤭🤭🤭 She even used some unkind language to express herself! Don't worry though, I defused the Camille bomb and everything is fine (thanks to your SUPER awesome BFF 🤗)  😉👍🏼👍🏼 You have been forgiven! 😭😂 

There! Now all that was left was to get this kid back to her house. 

"We are here!" Camille announced, pointing at the bakery across the street. 

Alya smiled, "It's your home sweet home!"

However the smile fell when she noticed that the ambulance that passed them had just stopped in front of the bakery. It was closed. 

Had there been an incident with a customer? 

She helped her across the street, and walked her in through the back entry of the house so that they would get directly to the stairway into the living room, possibly avoiding any scene that would've happened in the bakery.

Weirdly enough, Alya noticed their door was unlocked. Upon opening it, she heard Sabine sobbing over an unconscious Marinette, laying across the sofa. 

Downstairs came the sound of an opening door and heavy entering footsteps.

"Tom!! Tom!" Sabine cried as she ran down to get her husband, who had just returned.

"Mari?" Camille broke free from Alya's grasp to awaken her older sister. "Mari, wake up!" 

"Oh my gosh... no, no. Girl, please don't... be," Alya felt her chest full with panic as she ran over to her unconscious friend. Quickly, she looked to see if she was breathing, and she noticed she wasn't. 

"Marinette!" Tom's voice thundered from downstairs as he hurried up with echoing footsteps following behind him. "She's right this way!" 

"Mari! Mari!!" Camille tried to shake her awake, beginning to panic. "Mari, please stop sleeping and wake up!"

"She's not breathing!" Alya tearfully yelled to the adults in the room as everyone rushed to her side. 

"Make way!" The emergency responders pushed through to pick up the limp teenager, her face void of color. 

With trembling hands, Alya pulled Camille away from the scene. "No!! Mari! Mari, wake up!" The child cried out, "Don't take my sister away!! Paris needs her! I need her!" 

"She's been like this for five minutes, and- I-I think she was fighting being- being akumatized, and then she stopped moving- and passed out and now she won't wake up no matter what I try! I tried a cold towel and everything- and please help her!" Sabine begged the people, grabbing her husband's arm in a panic.

"It's okay, Camille," Alya told her with a cracking voice, already crying herself, "They're going to help her. They can save her."

Camille saw Tikki peek out from Marinette's room worriedly, and she looked to her fearfully.


	19. Chapter 19

The lights were glaringly bright against the comfortable darkness that Marinette tried to slip back into, wanting to get more rest. She groaned quietly, snuggling deeper into the pillow as she sleepily raised the thin sheets over her, trying to block out the cold air. 

"Hey dudes, I think she's waking up," a deep voice mentioned quietly. It sounded familiar, but Marinette was too exhausted to try and think of who it might've been.

"Get her parents," Alya's voice demanded to him. It didn't take much to recognize her best friend's voice, seeing as it just came to her head without trying.

That other voice must've been Nino then.

Slowly, Marinette rubbed her eyes and tried to open them without being blinded by the harsh lighting. Once she focused her vision, she realized she was no longer in her bedroom, but surrounded by some pretty recognizable faces. 

"Adrien?" She mumbled, trying to keep her heavy eyelids open. What was he doing here?

"Hey Marinette. How are you feeling?" He asked, standing up to walk closer to her bed. 

As tired as she was, hearing him approach made those butterflies flutter in her stomach and a sense of excitement burst through her to have him talk to her. 

But, wait... 

"What... happened? Wait," she muttered, "Your birthday. What time is it? You have to get back to your party."

His party! His present wasn't done, or even close to it! Why was he here? Wasn't he supposed to be at school, or at his party, or was it still lunchtime?

"Don't worry, girl," Alya walked up to the other side of the bed to hug her best friend. Marinette allowed her to squeeze her, and she weakly tried to return it.

"It's fine. We rescheduled it so we could make sure you're okay," Adrien reassured her, "Also I wrote notes in the classes you missed yesterday and today."

It wasn't lunchtime anymore. It wasn't even the same freaking day! What day even was it?!

"What?!" Marinette wanted to jolt up, but her body was still heavy from the sleepiness, "Adrien, but your party—"

"It's okay, I'm just so glad you're okay," Adrien grabbed her hand. 

As the heat rushed up to her face, Marinette realized that she must've looked disgusting. She let out a small giggle, her eyelids still weighing down as she tried to hold them up to see the sweet care in his eyes. She didn't want him to disappear right now, or to see his face fade from her vision as she fell back into darkness, so she pushed to stay awake.

Alya relocated herself outside the room to give them space. 

"You could've still had it without me. Nino would've made it so much fun with his cool DJ skills," Marinette felt the words slip from her mouth. 

"A party without one of my absolute best friends?" Adrien asked incredulously, although still speaking softly enough not to disturb her, "Where's the fun in that?" 

Marinette groaned in shame. This was her doing. If she hadn't— Wait, what happened before this?

"What... happened to me?" She asked, forcing herself to sit up so that she could see what was on her. 

It was a hospital gown and some things attached to her arms, she noticed. She was in a hospital. 

"Well... Alya says she found you unconscious and not breathing. Your mom says you were nearly akumatized, but you fought it off, then went into shock. The doctor says you went into a seizure, and it cut off your breathing. Luckily, they resuscitated your breathing, and you're going to be okay," Adrien explained, using a gentle enough voice to make the information seem less scary. 

"Oh."

So... she almost died? Freaking Hawkmoth almost killed her? Was that even possible? 

Marinette felt herself grow slightly irritated at the idea that she could've died at the doing of her city's super-villain that she vowed to bring down three years ago. 

Which reminded her... 

She immediately reached for her earrings in a panic, and realized there was nothing there. Just her flat earlobes. Where were they?! 

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked, reaching out to touch her hand. 

"I— my earrings! Do you know where they are?" Marinette asked him, her eyes wide with worry. 

The teenage boy shook his head sadly. "No, I'm sorry. Maybe the hospital is holding them for you? I'm sure you'll get them back when they release you."

Unfortunately for the panic-ridden girl, she didn't end up getting them back from the hospital when she was released shortly afterwards. She swiftly thanked everyone who stayed to visit and check on her, but she was filled with anxiety about where her small earrings could be. At this point, anyone could have them, including Hawkmoth if he sent another akuma out while she was unconscious. Was there another akuma? 

Master Fu was going to kill her. 

Well, it was more like a heavily disappointed look he would give her, but she knew the dire urgency of this situation would result in ultimate disaster if she didn't revert it. 

A heavy sense of shame, guilt, and fear weighed on her as she was being driven back to the bakery by her parents. How could she let this happen? How weak was she to be unable to hold herself together? It wasn't supposed to be that hard. 

Because of her, Adrien couldn't have his party yesterday. He was given one rare opportunity where his father allowed him to host an actual party, but because she had to go and have a breakdown, now he had to reschedule it. Gabriel Agreste was probably annoyed by her now, and she wouldn't blame Adrien, the nicest boy she knew, if he was also annoyed by this (even if he pretended not to be because he was so nice). 

Because of her, the Ladybug miraculous was gone. She lost one half of the universe's most sacred and dangerous power, and probably risked the safety of every living being. Chat Noir would no longer have a partner, Paris would lose of its protectors, and Camille would lose her role model. Now she had to figure out what to do, and all she could think of at the moment was to come clean to Master Fu, so he could possibly (if he trusted her enough now) give her another miraculous to use to find Ladybug. 

Marinette blamed herself to a great degree, but knew she had to fix this. Even if it was really late in the night, it was her responsibility to figure out what to do now. 

Once she got inside, she noticed Camille wasn't around. 

"Hey Mama, where's Camille?" Marinette inquired, coming back down from her room after checking. 

"Oh, she's staying with Alya's family for now, but we can pick her up tomorrow after school," Sabine answered, before quickly adding, "Don't worry about picking her up, I can get her while your father manages the bakery."

Marinette pushed an appreciative smile, knowing she was trying to help out with her stress, "Thank you."

Gosh, if she was staying with Alya's family, they must've not wanted to tell her about what happened to her, Marinette thought. Maybe it was too scary for her to hear and see.

"I will pick her up tomorrow," she spoke up quickly, deciding she wanted to reassure Camille that she was fine. 

Hopefully her sister wasn't too worried. 

Once her mother and father went off to bed, Marinette snuck out of the house to get to Master Fu's. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too mad. 


	20. Chapter 20

When Adrien got home from visiting Marinette at the hospital, he decided to go on a small night patrol. There was no particular reason for it, other than the fact that he just appreciated seeing the city in all its glory at night. The night wind felt amazing and freeing, completely opposite to when he was usually stuck in his room the whole time. Sometimes his lady would even join him to hang out or keep him company, even if she just said it was "being on duty."

However, when he saw spots that night, it was different. The heroine was much smaller in size, but still somewhat looked like Ladybug. 

Wasn't that her small friend from last time she fought an akuma? She seemed lost. 

"Hey, Little Bug, was it? What are you doing out here so late?" Chat Noir asked, approaching the scared little girl gently. 

Her lower lip was trembling and her mask was wet with tears. "I-I can't find them," she whimpered, slowly walking toward Chat Noir. 

"What— or who are you looking for? Are you trying to find Ladybug?" He asked, lowering himself down to her level. 

She nodded, sniffling, "I-I don't know w-where she is! I can't find Grandma either! I looked everywhere!" 

Oh dang, this was crossing into identity territory, Chat realized, but this child would be in danger if he didn't help her find Ladybug or whoever was responsible for taking care of her.

"We'll find them," he reassured her, then thought for a moment, "Did you transform with Ladybug?" 

"No... Tikki quickly gave me her earrings when— when... M- Ladybug was having a heart attack."

Chat almost choked. 

"A heart attack?" He croaked, his face frozen in a terrified cringe, "I-Is she okay?" 

"I dunno! They took her away! My grandma had a heart attack and I didn't see her again and now she's gone too and I dunno what to do, Cat Noir!!" The girl was beginning to cry again. 

Heart attack?! Heart attack! His lady had a heart attack?! Was she dead?! He didn't want to think she was dead, but... she looked terrified. Maybe Ladybug wasn't dead. 

What would she do in this situation?! 

Come up with a quick solution on the spot, right?

He could think of one. What could he do to figure out whether or not she was really dead, or where he could take this girl?

The hospital! There was only one that she likely would've gone to, unless Ladybug lived out of the city. 

"We can check the hospital," Chat offered, "Here, let's take my staff to get there faster."

"Okay," Little Bug wiped away her tears, allowing the hero to pick her up. 

Burying her face into his suit when they took off, she clung to him for her life. She trusted Ladybug when she had done this, but Chat Noir might've been a bit more unfamiliar. Still, she was terrified. 

When they got there, the smaller girl ran into the hospital with Chat Noir shortly behind her, both of them frantic to find the hero. It wasn't long until Chat realized he wouldn't be able to be there when Little Bug asked to find Ladybug's civilian identity. 

"Okay, you can ask the lady right there if your... cousin or sister is here," he advised, directing her to the woman sitting at the front desk. 

"Sister," she corrected, albeit still trembling anxiously, "Okay..."

Camille wasn't the biggest fan of talking to people she didn't know, mostly because she was scared of talking to strangers. However, she was willing to do it this time because she needed to find Marinette and make sure she wouldn't disappear too. 

"Hello there, how can I help you?" The lady asked kindly once Camille nervously approached her. 

"H-Hi, is Mari Cheng here? Mari—anet?" She attempted to say it. 

"Let me check for you," she said, turning to the computer to type the name in. "Maria Neht-Chang," she muttered under her breath.

Camille glanced back at Chat Noir nervously, where he was standing on the other side of the room, trying to hold it together. 

What happened to his lady?! Why was she having a heart attack? Wasn't she too young?! He was sure she maintained a healthy enough diet. She didn't look like she had any major health problems. Was she going to be okay? 

He was scared for her. What if she wasn't going to be Ladybug anymore? How could he even live without his other half? 

First, it was Marinette and now it was Ladybug. Why were all these people so important to him getting hurt? 

"I'm so sorry, she's here... but in critical condition, Sweetie. I'm afraid you won't be able to see her now," the doctor told Little Bug sympathetically. 

"Why?" She asked, her eyes growing watery as she looked back at Chat frantically. 

He came over quickly, "How is she?" 

"She's in critical condition, sir. Visiting hours are over, but if her condition improves by tomorrow, you'll be able to see her," she apologetically told the worried hero. 

His heart twisted and his stomach turned. Critical meant she wasn't okay. He couldn't help but think of her smile, and it hurt him so badly to think he might never see it from her again. 

Chat nodded stiffly, his own eyes filling with tears. What was he supposed to do now? 

Taking Camille by the hand, they both left the hospital quietly. 

"Where do I take you?" He asked, his voice breaking a little.

"I don't know... I can't go without Ma— Ladybug."

Oh no... She had parents, right? 

"Are your parents looking for you?" Chat asked, looking down at her. 

"No," she answered honestly. She snuck out when Alya's family went to sleep. They didn't notice her leave, and wouldn't know until morning. 

"Are you sure?" He asked again, "Where are they?" 

"No, and I don't know," she replied, crossing her arms sadly. 

Well he couldn't just leave her there either. Was he supposed to take her with him? Maybe he could take her to Master Fu, but was it too late? 

He'd take her tomorrow morning, he decided. 

"Okay, so how do you feel about coming with me for the night? Tomorrow we can find your family, and maybe even get you to Ladybug," Chat Noir suggested. 

Camille nodded, obviously willing to go with one of the superheroes she's spent her whole life idolizing. The two made a deal to keep their identities secret when they detransformed at his house. 

When they arrived through his open window, Chat helped her in carefully. He would definitely have her use his bed and he’d take the couch in his room, then wake up early enough to take her to Master Fu’s.

"Wow, this is a big room," Camille's eyes widened as she looked around. 

"Tikki, take off the spots," she muttered. 

Chat Noir's eyes grew wide in confusion as the girl's hair disappeared into a short buzz. Wasn't that... 

"Camille?" He croaked out.

Turning around, he definitely saw Marinette Dupain-Cheng's younger face. 

Dear. 

Goodness.

Now he knew who to take Camille to.


	21. Chapter 21

Marinette could have sworn she'd caught Chat Noir scattering across the rooftops in her peripheral vision, but he'd vanished so quickly that she hadn't been positive if it had been her imagination or not. Maybe it had been paranoia considering she lost her Miraculous? 

Gosh, she felt so lame for letting it happen. She should've taken off the earrings as soon as she felt herself getting overly-emotional, but instead she let herself have a freaking panic attack and ended up in the hospital without even realizing it. Now she had no clue where her earrings were or how she would purify an akuma if Hawkmoth decided to send one out.

Once she arrived to Master Fu's place, she knocked gently, just to ensure he hadn't been sleeping at the moment. Thankfully for the panic-stricken teenager, he opened the door within moments of her knocking.

"Marinette, is there something wrong? Come in," he rushingly invited her in, seeming anxious but collected. She scampered in behind him, her loose pajamas allowing the wind from the open door to send a light breeze up her pants and back. Shivering slightly, she noticed Wayzz pushed the door shut behind her.

Her throat constricted when she was given the chance to speak, and the butterflies in her stomach from the anxiety were viciously swirling and surging against the walls. Her hands trembled and she hugged herself as she took a shaking breath. 

How was she going to say this as calmly as she wanted to?

"Master, I lost the miraculous!" 

The elderly man's kind eyes practically widened to circles at the words.

The words erupted from her lips in a panicked blurt, "I fainted because I was stressed and apparently had a seizure so I went to the hospital and my Miraculous was taken off and when I woke up, it was gone and I'm so sorry because now the universe is doomed and it's all my fault for not being able to control my—"

 

"Slow down," Master Fu interrupted gently, although his eyes shared the same volume of panic that her's contained, "So I gather that you fell unconscious and your miraculous was taken during that time?" 

Marinette, already on the verge of tears, nodded with a trembling lower lip. "I didn't mean for it to happen," she said, her voice breaking. She nervously grasped at the ends of her frizzing hair, unconsciously using her fingers to comb through the ends of it. 

"Accidents happen, but we cannot change what's already been done," he reassured her to the best of his abilities, "Instead, we must work to correct what we can."

She must work to correct what she could, Marinette gathered, even though the worry swirling in her stomach didn't subside. 

That was what made her Ladybug, Tikki would've told her. Of course she couldn't go back in time and put the earrings in a safer place before she passed out, but she could focus her efforts on finding them with haste.

"I won't stop looking for it!" Marinette determined, feeling her chest swell with a suffocating regret, "Tikki's gone, and I won't stop until I find her!" 

"You will need the assistance of a miraculous. One that can get you in smaller places will prove to aid you in your search," Master Fu spoke thoughtfully, then turned around to get his box. 

Marinette's tear-filled eyes grew in amazement and halted her breath, just as they always had, when she saw the miracle box open to show every single miraculous he protected. She instinctively felt her hands rise as if they were drawn to feel every bump and curve of the jewels, but yanked them back down as if she had touched a burning pot. 

A part of her couldn't imagine being trusted with another precious and powerful jewelry piece after the incident, but at meeting the master's eyes, she could see his ultimate belief in her.

From one of the sides, the elderly man retrieved the necklace of the mouse miraculous. "This will grant you the power to shrink down and easily sneak into small spaces. With this, you may have more luck finding your miraculous," he held it out to her. 

She looked back up at him with hesitance, and earned a reassuring nod, to which she lifted a hand again. 

He placed it in her palm, offering a tired, yet encouraging smile that was filled with warmth. 

"Thank you," she said, taking it to put around her neck. Once she did so, a small mouse kwami appeared in front of her. 

"I am Mullo," the small kwami greeted with her high, raspy voice, "You must be Tikki's pupa!" 

She whizzed up to Marinette's face, to which she staggered back with surprise. "You're a cutie! You know, I can make you my size when you're transformed! I'm so excited to work with you! I've heard all about you and Chat Noir! You're like both super famous!! The other kwami tell me about how you're trying to save Nooroo, and I think that's super admirable, Pupa! What's our mission today? What are we thinking of doing? Am I helping you save Nooroo today?" 

"Mullo has quite the excitable spirit," Master Fu chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're going to overwhelm that poor girl," Wayzz pulled the mouse kwami a few feet back from the teenager scoldingly. 

"It's okay," Marinette felt herself giggle a bit at how enthusiastic and excited this little mouse was to help her. "I'm Marinette," she introduced herself, placing a hand over her chest. 

"Considering you were in the hospital, I think it would be best if you get your rest tonight, and search for your miraculous when you're well-rested," Master Fu advised, patting the anxiously-stiff young girl on the shoulder.

"He's not wrong! The human body needs a lot of rest because you need energy to transform and be the best superhero you could be, but the mouse miraculous requires a lot less energy than the others because when you shrink, the amount of energy needed to fuel your transformation shrinks too, but I also love cheese so if you have any at your home, I would be so thankful! Any cheese would do actually!" 

"Calm down!" Wayzz grumbled, growing annoyed with the hyper energy radiating off of the mouse kwami. 

"You calm down, party pooper!" Mullo shot back before rushing to sit on Marinette's shoulder.

"I am calm!" Wayzz argued, his little chest puffing with frustration. 

"Alright, let's be civil, you two. Marinette needs Mullo's assistance," Master Fu intervened, shooting a scolding, and somewhat sharp look between the two of them. 

"Sorry Master!" Mullo squeaked apologetically, zipping in front of him. 

"We apologize," Wayzz nodded, a small scowl on his face with the presence of the mouse kwami. He shook it off, sitting on the elderly man's shoulder. 

"I'm ready to assist you, Marinette! Whatever you need!" Mullo cheerfully told the girl, bouncing over to be in front of her. 

"Thank you," Marinette replied with a smile, any previous traces of tears now gone with the silliness of this kwami and her antics. 

Master Fu smiled warmly at their interactions, "You're both free to work with one another until the problem is solved. I wish you both the best of luck."

Marinette thanked him, relieved to have found that he wasn't as upset with her as she had been with herself. Mullo tucked herself in the girl's purse readily. 

When her phone vibrated, it scared the kwami a bit, seeing as she screamed a little. Marinette was startled, but checked the device to see that she had a text. 

Alya: MARINETTE WE CAN'T FIND CAMILLE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the mouse kwami is different from how he/she is portrayed in the show, and I'm just writing it this way for my fanfiction! In my story, Mullo (I found the name on the Miraculous Wiki page), is a feminine, excitable kwami. I'm not sure how they are in the show (feminine or masculine, or personality or power-wise) so I'm just writing my own version of Mullo! 💙
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! 💗


	22. Chapter 22

"We're not telling Marinette that Chat Noir or Adrien knows that she's Ladybug," Adrien reminded her, "Please, please, let's pretend that you didn't reveal your identity and I didn't either, so it's just like it was before." 

"Grandma said not to lie, but people here like it when I lie," Camille expressed her realization with interest. 

Well, in her experience, she saw that Mari got permission to finally go to her husband's party when she lied about who caused the accident in the kitchen, and Mari really liked her for that. Not to mention, she saw how often Mari lied when she was pretending not to be Ladybug. Now, Mari's husband didn't want her to say anything to Mari about him being Chat Noir and Adrien knowing that she is Ladybug. 

Paris loved secrets. 

"Look at you," Plagg cackled at Adrien, "Teaching a little girl how to lie like a professional! Good lesson, Mr. Role Model!" 

Adrien sent a glare toward him, but understood that what he was implying wasn't wrong either. He wasn't trying to brainwash Marinette's little sister into becoming the next Lila Rossi. 

"Okay, so lying isn't good," Adrien told her, "What we're doing is keeping a special secret. We won't have to keep it a secret forever, but just long enough until I get to tell her myself." 

"So... we lie but like a secret?" Camille looked up at him in confusion, giving him the big bluebell eyes he recognized from the sweetest girl in his class. 

"It's basically a white lie, princess," Plagg floated down to tell her, "White lies are secrets we keep to protect people we care about."

"Oh... Okay!" 

"So, just for now, we won't tell Marinette anything about knowing our identities," Adrien clarified nervously, "It was just Little Bug hanging out with Chat Noir until you were able to find your home street." 

"Okay," Camille agreed, although she wasn't exactly sure as to why he didn't want to tell his wife that they were superheroes in love. 

"What about Mari's heart attack?" Camille asked, "Isn't she in crindling condition?" 

"I thought she was going home later that day, but the person at the front said she was in critical condition... I'm still confused about that. I saw Marinette a few hours before and she was a little tired, but she didn't look critical," Adrien muttered as he was pacing across his room. 

"She's probably fine," Plagg translated his holder's mutters for the worried child. 

"But when Grandma had a heart attack, she never went back to me and I still don't see her," Camille argued, unsure if she'd ever see her older sister again.

Adrien's thoughts wandered straight to his mother, remembering having a similar thought process. However, his mom didn't have a heart attack, he didn't think, but her health slowly deteriorated and she disappeared one day. He figured it meant she died, and was still slightly frustrated that his father never held a funeral for her, but he probably couldn't  accept closure. It must've been the same case for Camille's grandmother, but with a heart attack. 

That wouldn't happen to Marinette, right? He couldn't imagine the same thing happening to someone he cared so much about all over again. 

"We'll figure out what to do," Adrien reassured her with determination. 

There was a strong sense of dread, knowing his lady and his princess was in such bad condition, but he was determined to learn what was happening. He'd do whatever it took to make sure she got the proper financing and medical help she needed. 

First off, what in the world was he going to do with this kid? As he sat on his bed with a hand over his mouth and a thoughtful expression, he noticed a figure running across the rooftops. 

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien panicked, shoving his ring outwards to suck the kwami in. 

There was a freaking akuma and Ladybug was in freaking critical condition! What was he supposed to do with this?! 

He was not endangering Marinette's little sister with an akuma, and letting her risk her life! 

Maybe he'd have to be Ladybug— er Misterbug again... 

But who was Camille supposed to stay with during the fight? He couldn't leave her alone! 

She'd just have to hold onto his ring and be a mini Chat Noir.

"Claws in!" He changed his mind, causing the kwami to be thrown out seconds after being sucked in. 

"Don't do that!" Plagg hissed. 

"Sorry, I just need a plan! There's an akuma! I just saw one, and Ladybug isn't up to bat here. I think I'm just going to have to be MisterBug today, and Camille can be Little Chat," Adrien apologized to his kwami, explaining. 

"Can my name be something else?" Camille asked shyly, looking between the cat kwami and Adrien. 

"You're like a kitten, so I'd obviously name you Chaton," Plagg added his input. 

"Maybe the English translation of it is more fitting," Adrien suggested, "Kitten?"

Camille nodded, unsure of which one she was even nodding to, but she liked both options equally. She took the ring from one of her sister's husbands, exchanging the earrings to Adrien, and slipped the big metal thing around her thumb. 

"It should shrink to fit your finger when you transform," Plagg reassured her with a gentle tone, "Just say what this doofus always says to transform. Do you remember it, or would you like to say it after me?" 

"I'm right here," Adrien narrowed his eyes at his kwami, to which he flickered his tail around. 

"With you," Camille mumbled shyly to the kwami. 

"So, just say it with me to transform into Chaton," he explained, "Claws out."

"Claws out," Camille repeated, and watched as he flew into her ring, which oddly had shrunken to fit her finger. She had sadly chosen her thumb, but it fitted it now, she figured. 

Looking down, she saw that she was wearing a small black long-sleeved dress that had green paw prints with black leather leggings and boots to protect her skin. Small black gloves covered her hands. Camille thought they were pretty cute, seeing as there was a big green paw print on the palm side of each of her gloves. 

She noticed that her wig came back, matching her hair color perfectly. It was arranged into her usual hairstyle, pigtails. There was also a black belt around her waist, which extended into a tail like Chat Noir's. 

Camille wished she could show Marinette her new outfit, but sadly thought she'd probably never get to even see her ever again. 

When Adrien put the earrings on, he saw Tikki reappear. 

"Oh Adrien, you already know," she offered a broken smile to her chosen's partner. 

"Yes, but don't worry. I'd never do anything to put Marinette in danger," Adrien sincerely confirmed, although his eyes were filled with genuine fear, "Also don't worry, I won't let Camille get close to the akuma. I just need to make sure she's not alone while I'm fighting, then—"

"There's an akuma?! You're familiar with Ladybug's akuma routine, right?" Tikki accidentally found herself interrupting the poor boy out of worry. 

"Yes," Adrien reassured the kwami, having already seen his partner cleanse several akumatized victims over the past few years. 

Although, he was scared knowing he didn't technically have anyone to fight beside him. If he had to use Lucky Charm, he knew he'd take way longer than his clever lady, if he even managed to figure out the use of it. He would have the power of a tiny cataclysm if he was able to protect the child well-enough while she did it. 

"Spots on!”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’m so sorry this is like a month late! I mostly wrote this chapter before the official release of MultiMouse, so it's different from the show's version, but I still corrected some of it! 
> 
> It is mashed up with my version of what I assumed she'd be like, so I'm letting you guys know in advance once again so there's no confusion!
> 
> Also this chapter is dedicated to you, DevynDragon! (I'm taking your suggestion! :D Not to mention, it’ll be brought up again in a later chapter as well)! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

After transforming into MultiMouse, Marinette left Master Fu's in a frantic effort to search for both her missing little sister and miraculous. 

She hadn't used her shrink-down power yet, but when she saw a figure wielding her miraculous and charging at her, her initial reaction was to shrink down to lose him. Unfortunately for her, what she hadn't realized was that she was going to split herself into several tinier forms of herself, so she was rather startled at this discovery. 

She told the other forms of herself to stick together and hide unless something were to occur to this version of herself. 

"Get back here, you nasty akuma!" A male voice came from the person using her Miraculous. 

Who the heck was accusing her of being an akuma?

"Akuma?!" She squeaked, her voice pitched much higher than usual, "I'm not an akuma!" 

He tried to swipe her into his hands, but she swiftly avoided them by leaping up and using his arm as a pad to jump up and off of. A smaller figure with cat ears lurked shortly behind him. 

"Chat Noir lost his miraculous too?!" She squealed irritatedly, "Idiot!" 

"Wait, what?" 

"Chat Noir— er, MisterBug, is that you?!" MultiMouse realized, looking at his green eyes and blonde hair. 

His costume definitely had changed from when they last switched Miraculous with Reflekdoll. His collarbone was exposed, and there was nothing hiding his neck.

"Yes! Wait, if you're not an akuma, who are you?" MisterBug asked her, completely confused as to what in the world was happening.

Should she tell them she was Ladybug without her Miraculous? But who was the person using his miraculous? 

"I'm MultiMouse," she informed him, "Who's that with the cat miraculous?" 

"That's Ladybug's sister," he replied, twiddling his thumbs, "She's Kitten."

Considering she was wearing his miraculous and Chat was wearing her miraculous, did the two see each other's identities?! Did he endanger her little sister? 

Also why did this dingbat have Camille when she was supposed to stay with Alya?

"Why doesn't Ladybug have her?" She asked, her voice disguised by the much higher pitch. 

"She was transformed with her earrings, looking around Paris to find her," he explained, "Considering Ladybug's in the hospital with a heart attack—"

"A heart attack?!" MultiMouse screeched, cutting him off. 

Who told them she had a heart attack?! She was pretty sure all she had was a seizure, then a short coma thing, but as far as she knew, she didn't have a heart attack! 

"I did not have a heart attack, Chat!!" She squealed out, then realized she used the wrong name. Oh well, she thought.

"Mommy!" Camille burst out from behind a surprised MisterBug, lowering herself down to the ground to see her. She picked up the mouse hero like a doll, lifting her into her hands and up to her level.

 

Marinette was so glad to see Camille, it hadn't even occurred to the teenager what she had called her.

"It's me! I have so much to ask you, but first, let's get out of here so I can de-transform and get back to my normal size," MultiMouse suggested to her younger sister.

"Chat-Bug took me up," she admitted, "I can't get down."

"Take us down, Chat," MultiMouse squeakily redirected her commands to her partner. 

"Y- You're alive," he sputtered out, tears of relief flooding in his eyes. 

Was... he about to cry? Gosh, he must've thought she was dead. Her heart broke at how her partner was reacting, and she wanted so badly to hug him. 

"Can you take me to Chat?" MultiMouse asked Kitten, giving up on calling him by his temporary hero name. 

The younger girl did so eagerly, passing the mouse girl to MisterBug with open hands. 

She made the strenuous effort to leap up on her partner's shoulder, which wasn't relaxed in the slightest. His head was turned the other direction, so MultiMouse held a tight grip as she slowly tried to climb to the other shoulder to get a better look at his face. 

At his neck, she was terrified she might accidentally slip on the collar, fall into his suit, and see more than just his face, so she resorted to tugging on a few lower strands of his shaggy blond hair. When he turned his head, his shoulders shifted slightly, which made his— well, her slippery red spandex suit less easier to balance on. Losing her step, she slipped down his collar and grabbed ahold of a section of his hair to hang on to. 

"Whoa!" She squeaked, "Bugaboy?!" 

He quickly used a gloved hand to support her and make sure she wouldn't fall. "Hey, m'lady," he finally spoke, although his tone was way less cocky and annoying than usual. 

"Hi," She said, collapsing to sit cross-legged on his hand, "Everything okay?"

He chuckled, offering a warm smile to her as he nodded. Something just looked... different in him. Why was he looking at her— like that? It wasn't bad, Marinette could tell, seeing just how much warmth and admiration was in that smile. 

Why did he have to make her heart beat like that?

Her necklace beeped in warning, and she jumped up nervously. "Chat, I'm going to de-transform soon! Can you take Kitten and I down so I don't expose my identity?" 

A rather silly smile tugged at his lips, but he agreed with a nod. Holding the younger girl with one arm and his partner with the other, he found a way off the roof and put them down. 

"Kitten and I need to swap our Miraculous back," MisterBug told the mouse girl, placing her on the ground.

"Did you two already see each other without the miraculous?" MultiMouse's eyes widened, her shoulders stiffening.

"No, no, of course not," MisterBug reassured her, glancing at the worried Kitten. 

"Nope!" The little girl simply replied after him. 

"There was an akuma— and th-there was a whole Reflekdoll situation- you know?" MisterBug stammered out a lie. 

"Oh okay," MultiMouse replied, "Just go switch it really quickly. Ca-Kitten, make sure you keep your eyes shut when MisterBug detransforms. Make sure to ask him to bring you back here when you've transformed back into Little Bug."

Camille nodded, waving at her before leaving with Ladybug's partner. She was relieved to have her sister back.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> I'm finally back! I do have to warn you though, the writing is a little rough and short 😅😂 I've been on a fanfiction hiatus for a while, so my style is a little out of sorts. If anything is written weirdly, I do apologize. 
> 
> I'm just glad to finally be able to give you guys new material! ❤️
> 
> How have you all been? 
> 
> Love, Blue 💙

The next day, Marinette basically had to fight her parents to allow her to go back to school. 

"Dear, the doctors gave us a note that we can deliver to your school. You need rest," Sabine reminded the teenage girl. 

"That's right! After what's happened, we can't have you stressing out. There was too much pressure, and it was unfair for you," Tom agreed, passing Marinette a buttered croissant. 

"Okay, I admit there was some pressure, but I'm okay now. I'll be fine," Marinette tried to reassure them, but they wouldn't take it. 

"No, no. You're taking time off. You need time to heal," Sabine sat her daughter back down. 

"Can I stay home with Mari too?" Camille asked, bouncing to sit beside her older sister. 

"I'm not staying home," Marinette reminded everyone, "I feel fine now." 

"Maybe we should homeschool both of them, Tom."

"I'm fine, I swear!" 

"What's homeschool? Is it bringing school home? Is my class coming to the kitchen?"

* * *

"Hey Luka."

"Hey Marinette, I heard about what happened. How are you?" Luka's chill voice came out of the phone.

The girl chuckled, "I'm actually doing great! I'm just— feeling overly coddled. I'm not allowed to go back to school for the next two weeks. My parents gave the school the doctor's note, so now I'm pretty sure I'm legally stuck home until the two weeks are up."

"Dang. How do you plan to spend your two week break?" Luka asked.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be in scho— or wait, you're homeschooled too," Marinette realized, cringing at her complaining. 

She was complaining about getting stuck at home when Luka had literally been homeschooled the majority of his life. She totally sounded like a kid whining about something that he was literally choosing to do.

"I'm probably going to focus on designing and drawing the whole time," Marinette mentally revised her response before verbalizing it this time, "I'm just a little worried about falling behind in the meantime."

"If you need help catching up on your assignments, I can have Juleka get them for you and I could help you with them," Luka offered.

Marinette felt her heart rate quicken with excitement at the sweet offer, which surprised her considering the contrasting emotion that she usually experienced when school was mentioned.

"Really? I mean— are you sure you have the time to do that for me?" Marinette felt her lips pull back into an unintentional smile. 

"I've got time," he chuckled, "My course work is slowing down, and I've always got spare time." 

"That'd be awesome, Luka!" 

"Cool. I'll ask Juleka to get your work, and I could bring it to you and help you figure it out."

"Thanks again! I really appreciate it," Marinette reminded him, wishing she could give the boy a hug. 

"No problem, Marinette," he replied, and she could've sworn she heard the smile in his voice.

So when Luka dropped by later that afternoon with a small packet, Marinette actually found herself to be enthusiastic about the tutoring she was about to receive from the boy. Camille wasn't too upset about him being over either. 

"Hi Mari's husband! Did you bring your gee-tar?" Camille asked him as her older sister was leaving the room to grab her school supplies. 

"Oh hello, Camille. Not today sadly," he laughed, watching a panicked blushing Marinette spin around.

"Camille, why don't you go down with Mama and Papa in the bakery? I'm sure they could use your help!" The teenage girl raced over to Camille, picking her up to take her somewhere else. It would definitely be somewhere where the child couldn't expose more of her deepest secrets. 

"Why? You and your husbands are fun to watch," Camille whined as she was being carried downstairs to the bakery. 

"It's about to get boring," Marinette told her, "You don't want to watch us study boring stuff like grown-up math and literature. It's lame. You'll have way more fun making cookies!"

Camille pouted, "But I liked doing it with Grandma. And you."

Aww, Marinette thought, she earned her sister's trust. She felt bad about not telling her about her grandmother yet, but that was her parents' job to do. It would've probably been a better idea for them to break the news at the beginning so there would be no lying. 

"Mama and Papa are fun to make cookies with too! That's how I learned how to bake," Marinette shared, placing her down when they got down to the bakery. 

"Hello dears," Sabine greeted them both as she put fresh pastries in the display. 

"Hi Maman. Can you please watch Camille or have her help out? Luka is about to tutor me, and she might get bored," Marinette felt a bit bad asking, knowing she was bringing her in on a busy day. 

"That's fine. Have fun, and try not to stress out!" She kissed her older daughter's head before taking Camille to the back with her husband. 

Marinette was thankful for the shift in responsibility, so now all she'd need to focus on is school. But would Luka really make that easier?


End file.
